| UFC 218: Holloway vs. Aldo 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 218: Holloway vs. Aldo 2 | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | December 2, 2017 (2017-12-02) | |||
| Venue | Little Caesars Arena | |||
| City | Detroit,Michigan | |||
| Attendance | 17,587[1] | |||
| Total gate | $2,000,000[1] | |||
| Buyrate | 230,000[2] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC 218: Holloway vs. Aldo 2 was amixed martial arts event produced by theUltimate Fighting Championship that was held on December 2, 2017, atLittle Caesars Arena inDetroit, Michigan.[3][4]
After previously contesting two events in theMetro Detroit area (and the first sinceUFC 123 in November 2010), the event was the first for the promotion at the newly built venue.[4]
AUFC Featherweight Championship bout between current championMax Holloway and formerUFC Lightweight ChampionFrankie Edgar was expected to serve as the main event.[5] However, on November 11, Edgar was forced to withdraw from the fight citing injury. He was replaced by formerWEC Featherweight Champion and former two-time championJosé Aldo.[6] Aldo was scheduled to faceRicardo Lamas atUFC on Fox: Lawler vs. dos Anjos in a rematch of his successful title defense atUFC 169 in February, 2014.[7] Holloway and Aldo met previously atUFC 212, with the former defeating the latter to win the championship.[8]
AUFC Heavyweight title eliminator bout between formerK-1 Grand Prix championAlistair Overeem and up and coming contenderFrancis Ngannou co-headlined the event. The winner would be matched against championStipe Miocic for the title. Miocic had previously defeated Overeem by first roundknockout atUFC 203 in September 2016.
A flyweight bout between2008 Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling and formerUFC Flyweight Championship challengerHenry Cejudo andSergio Pettis, initially scheduled forUFC 211 before Cejudo pulled out with a hand injury, was rescheduled for this event.[9] Subsequently, Cejudo's availability for the event was briefly in doubt as he suffered minor burn injuries to his right foot on the evening of October 9 as he was evacuating his hotel as a result of theTubbs Fire nearSanta Rosa, California.[10] The following day, his management team confirmed that the fight with Pettis was still on for the event.[11]
Al Iaquinta was scheduled to facePaul Felder at the event. However, Iaquinta pulled out of the fight on October 31 citing an injury.[12] Felder remained on the card againstCharles Oliveira.[13]
| Main Card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Featherweight | Max Holloway (c) | def. | José Aldo | TKO (punches) | 3 | 4:51 | [a] |
| Heavyweight | Francis Ngannou | def. | Alistair Overeem | KO (punch) | 1 | 1:42 | [b] |
| Flyweight | Henry Cejudo | def. | Sergio Pettis | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Eddie Alvarez | def. | Justin Gaethje | KO (knee) | 3 | 3:59 | |
| Women's Strawweight | Tecia Torres | def. | Michelle Waterson-Gomez | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1) | |||||||
| Lightweight | Paul Felder | def. | Charles Oliveira | TKO (elbows) | 2 | 4:06 | |
| Welterweight | Yancy Medeiros | def. | Alex Oliveira | TKO (punches) | 3 | 2:02 | |
| Lightweight | David Teymur | def. | Drakkar Klose | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Women's Strawweight | Felice Herrig | def. | Cortney Casey | Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
| Women's Strawweight | Amanda Cooper | def. | Angela Magaña | TKO (punches) | 2 | 4:34 | |
| Welterweight | Abdul Razak Alhassan | def. | Sabah Homasi | TKO (punches) | 1 | 4:21 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Dominick Reyes | def. | Jeremy Kimball | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 1 | 3:39 | |
| Heavyweight | Justin Willis | def. | Allen Crowder | KO (punch) | 1 | 2:33 | |
The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses:[15]
