| UFC 231: Holloway vs. Ortega | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 231: Holloway vs. Ortega | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | December 8, 2018 (2018-12-08) | |||
| Venue | Scotiabank Arena | |||
| City | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | |||
| Attendance | 19,039[1] | |||
| Total gate | $2,400,000[1] | |||
| Buyrate | 300,000[2] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC 231: Holloway vs. Ortega was amixed martial arts event produced by theUltimate Fighting Championship held on December 8, 2018 atScotiabank Arena inToronto,Ontario, Canada.[4]
AUFC Featherweight Championship bout betweenMax Holloway andBrian Ortega served as the event headliner.[5] The fight was originally scheduled to take place atUFC 226, but Holloway pulled out due to "concussion like symptoms".[6]
In the co-headlining slot, a bout for the vacantUFC Women's Flyweight Championship between formerUFC Women's Bantamweight Championship challengerValentina Shevchenko and formerUFC Women's Strawweight ChampionJoanna Jędrzejczyk took place. If victorious, Jędrzejczyk would become the first woman to win titles in different divisions.[7] They met previously in amateur muay thai and kickboxing, with Shevchenko winning all three encounters.[8] On October 2, the UFC announced that Shevchenko would faceSijara Eubanks atUFC 230 instead, as that event was in need of a headliner.[9] The fight between Shevchenko and Jędrzejczyk was put back together a week later though, as a fight between thenUFC Heavyweight andLight Heavyweight ChampionDaniel Cormier andDerrick Lewis wound up filling the headlining slot atUFC 230.[10]
A lightweight bout betweenGilbert Burns andOlivier Aubin-Mercier was previously scheduled to take place in February 2018 atUFC on Fox: Emmett vs. Stephens. However, Burns was pulled from the pairing during the week leading up to the event after medical officials deemed that it was unsafe for Burns to cut the necessary weight for the 156-pound limit.[11] The fight has been rescheduled for this event.[12]
A middleweight bout betweenThe Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 heavyweight winnerAntônio Carlos Júnior andThe Ultimate Fighter: Nations middleweight winnerElias Theodorou was initially scheduled to take place atUFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Anders. However, Júnior pulled out on August 28 due to injury.[13] The pairing was then rescheduled for this event.[14] In turn, on September 13, it was reported that Júnior was forced to withdraw as a surgery is required to treat the injury that caused the first cancellation of this bout.[15] On October 1, it was reported thatEryk Anders would replace him.[16]
A light heavyweight bout betweenJimi Manuwa andThiago Santos was expected to headlineUFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Anders, but the bout was scrapped due to an injury suffered by Manuwa.[17] The pairing took place at this event.[16]
A featherweight bout betweenRenato Moicano andMirsad Bektić was expected to take place at the event. However, Bektić was forced out of the bout due to an undisclosed injury on November 15.[18] Moicano instead served as the backup fighter for the main event.[19]
John Makdessi was expected to faceCarlos Diego Ferreira at the event. However, Makdessi pulled out of the fight on November 28 and was replaced by returning veteranJesse Ronson.[20] However, on December 4, it was announced that Ronson was pulled from the bout after Ontario Athletics Commission officials deemed that he was too heavy to safely make the lightweight 156-pound limit.[21] He was replaced by newcomerKyle Nelson.[22]
| Main Card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Featherweight | Max Holloway (c) | def. | Brian Ortega | TKO (doctor stoppage) | 4 | 5:00 | [a] |
| Women's Flyweight | Valentina Shevchenko | def. | Joanna Jędrzejczyk | Decision (unanimous) (49–46, 49–46, 49–46) | 5 | 5:00 | [b] |
| Welterweight | Gunnar Nelson | def. | Alex Oliveira | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 2 | 4:17 | |
| Featherweight | Hakeem Dawodu | def. | Kyle Bochniak | Decision (split) (28–29, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Thiago Santos | def. | Jimi Manuwa | KO (punch) | 2 | 0:41 | |
| Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1) | |||||||
| Women's Strawweight | Nina Ansaroff | def. | Cláudia Gadelha | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Gilbert Burns | def. | Olivier Aubin-Mercier | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Women's Flyweight | Jessica Eye | def. | Katlyn Chookagian | Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Middleweight | Elias Theodorou | def. | Eryk Anders | Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Early Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
| Bantamweight | Brad Katona | def. | Matthew Lopez | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Dhiego Lima | def. | Chad Laprise | KO (punch) | 1 | 1:37 | |
| Lightweight | Carlos Diego Ferreira | def. | Kyle Nelson | TKO (punches) | 2 | 1:23 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Aleksandar Rakić | def. | Devin Clark | TKO (punches) | 1 | 4:05 | |
The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses:[24]
