| UFC 206: Holloway vs. Pettis | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 206: Holloway vs. Pettis | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | December 10, 2016 (2016-12-10) | |||
| Venue | Air Canada Centre | |||
| City | Toronto, Ontario,Canada | |||
| Attendance | 18,057[1] | |||
| Total gate | $1,843,101[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC 206: Holloway vs. Pettis was amixed martial arts event produced by theUltimate Fighting Championship (UFC) held on December 10, 2016, at theAir Canada Centre inToronto, Ontario, Canada.[2]
AUFC Light Heavyweight Championship rematch between the former championDaniel Cormier andAnthony Johnson was originally expected to headline the event.[3] The pairing met previously in May 2015 atUFC 187 with Cormier winning the fight (and the vacant title) via submission in the third round.[4] However, on November 25, Cormier pulled out due to injury and the bout was scrapped.[5] Promotion officials reportedly tried to book Johnson against formerStrikeforce Light Heavyweight ChampionGegard Mousasi, but the former opted to wait for Cormier to return. The bout was rescheduled forUFC 210. Therefore, a featherweight bout betweenMax Holloway and formerUFC Lightweight ChampionAnthony Pettis was shifted to the headlining spot. Another component was added to the fight, as it was expected to be for the interimUFC Featherweight Championship status.[6] The current champion (as well as lightweight champion)Conor McGregor vacated his title and former champion/current interim titleholderJosé Aldo became the undisputed champion.[7][8]
Promotional newcomerPoliana Botelho was expected to face formerUFC Women's Strawweight Championship challengerValérie Létourneau at the event. However, Botelho was removed from the fight for undisclosed reasons on October 26 and was replaced by fellow newcomerViviane Pereira.[9]
FormerUFC Flyweight Championship challengerJohn Moraga was expected to face formerBellator Bantamweight ChampionZach Makovsky at the event. However, Moraga pulled out of the fight in early November citing injury and was replaced byDustin Ortiz.[10]
A middleweight bout betweenTim Kennedy and formerUFC Light Heavyweight Champion and divisional newcomerRashad Evans was originally booked forUFC 205. However, Evans was pulled from the fight days before the event after an undisclosed irregularity was found during his pre-fight medical exam. Subsequently, Kennedy was removed from the card as well.[11][12] The fight was later rescheduled for this event.[13] Subsequently, Evans once again was unable to obtain medical clearance to compete on the card and was pulled from the bout on November 21. An irregularity in his pre-fightMRI was responsible for both removals and he is expected to undergo an additional screening with a neurologist to prove he is healthy enough to fight, before possibly returning to the cage in January or February, according to his manager.[14]The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen middleweight winnerKelvin Gastelum was announced as his replacement on November 26, pending commission approval due to his suspension afterUFC 205.[15] He was granted his liberation 4 days later.[16]
A welterweight bout betweenChad Laprise andLi Jingliang was expected to take place at the event. However, Laprise pulled out of the fight on November 16 citing an undisclosed injury. As a result, Li was pulled from the card entirely and will be rescheduled at a future event.[17]
At the weigh-ins, Pettis came in at 148 lb, three pounds over the featherweight limit of 145 lb. for a championship fight. As a result, in the event that Pettis were to win the fight with Holloway, he would be ineligible for the championship, while Holloway was still eligible.[18] Pettis was fined 20% of his purse, which will go Holloway and the bout proceeded as scheduled at a catchweight. Pettis was the first fighter to miss weight for a UFC championship bout sinceTravis Lutter atUFC 67 in February 2007.[19][20]Rustam Khabilov andValérie Létourneau also missed the required weight for their respective fights. They were both fined 20% of their purse which will go to their respective opponents,Jason Saggo and Viviane Pereira. The bouts proceeded at catchweight.[20]
| Main Card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Catchweight (148 lb) | Max Holloway | def. | Anthony Pettis | TKO (body kick and punches) | 3 | 4:50 | [a] |
| Welterweight | Donald Cerrone | def. | Matt Brown | KO (Head Kick) | 3 | 0:34 | |
| Featherweight | Cub Swanson | def. | Choi Doo-ho | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Middleweight | Kelvin Gastelum | def. | Tim Kennedy | TKO (punches) | 3 | 2:45 | |
| Welterweight | Emil Weber Meek | def. | Jordan Mein | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1) | |||||||
| Light Heavyweight | Misha Cirkunov | def. | Nikita Krylov | Submission (guillotine choke) | 1 | 4:38 | |
| Lightweight | Olivier Aubin-Mercier | def. | Drew Dober | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 2 | 2:57 | |
| Catchweight (117.5 lb) | Viviane Pereira | def. | Valérie Létourneau | Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Matthew Lopez | def. | Mitch Gagnon | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
| Lightweight | Lando Vannata | def. | John Makdessi | KO (wheel kick) | 1 | 1:40 | |
| Catchweight (158 lb) | Rustam Khabilov | def. | Jason Saggo | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Flyweight | Dustin Ortiz | def. | Zach Makovsky | Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses:[22]
After receiving fight of the year in 2016[23] it was announced by the UFC on April 10, 2022 that Cub Swanson vs. Doo Ho Choi would be inducted into theUFC Hall of Fame in 2022.[24]
| Pioneer Wing | |
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| Modern-Era Wing | |
| Contributors | |
| Fights | |
| Community Award | |
