| UFC 196: McGregor vs. Diaz | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 196: McGregor vs. Diaz | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | March 5, 2016 (2016-03-05) | |||
| Venue | MGM Grand Garden Arena | |||
| City | Las Vegas,Nevada | |||
| Attendance | 14,898[1] | |||
| Total gate | $8,197,628[2] | |||
| Buyrate | 1,317,000[3] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC 196: McGregor vs. Diaz was amixed martial arts event held on March 5, 2016, atMGM Grand Garden Arena inLas Vegas,Nevada.[4][5][6]
The event was officially announced in November 2015 as "UFC 197", taking place on March 5, 2016, atHSBC Arena inRio de Janeiro,Brazil.[7] Weeks later on December 29,UFC announced that the event was canceled and would be moved to a different location.[8] On January 12, it was confirmed the event would take place at theMGM Grand Garden Arena inLas Vegas,Nevada, United States.[6]
On January 13, UFC revealed this event was originally intended to take place atArena da Baixada (a much larger venue) inCuritiba,Paraná,Brazil, and feature aUFC Heavyweight Championship rematch between championFabrício Werdum and former two-time championCain Velasquez, with formerUFC Middleweight ChampionAnderson Silva in the co-main event slot, possibly againstMichael Bisping. Due to a series of injuries, the company moved the heavyweight bout to a separate event scheduled for February 6, which at that time wastitled "UFC 196". This change made the March 5 event a smaller draw, which led to the transition to the smaller venue inRio de Janeiro. To maintain local interest, the company then considered booking the main event as a rematch between twoBrazilian fighters, Silva and formerUFC Light Heavyweight ChampionVitor Belfort. Belfort declined the bout, as he wished to wait for the result of themiddleweight title fight atUFC 194. This final fall-through is what prompted the cancellation of the event in Brazil and relocation toLas Vegas.[9] On January 27, it was revealed the Werdum-Velasquez bout (which had been moved to "UFC 196" scheduled for February 6, 2016) was cancelled entirely. This forced that event to alter into a "UFC Fight Night" card, and the originally scheduled "UFC 197" event was renamed UFC 196.[10]
The event was expected to be headlined by aUFC Lightweight Championship bout between championRafael dos Anjos andUFC Featherweight ChampionConor McGregor.[6] This would have been the second time inUFC history that champions in different divisions would fight for the same title. The first time was atUFC 94 on January 31, 2009, when then-UFC Welterweight ChampionGeorges St-Pierre defended his title against then-lightweight championB.J. Penn. On February 23, the planned bout suffered a setback as it was announced that dos Anjos pulled out due to a broken foot.[11] FormerUFC Featherweight ChampionJosé Aldo declined the initial opportunity to replace him due to "lack of time" to prepare for the bout.[12] Former lightweight champion and top featherweight contenderFrankie Edgar also declined the opportunity due to a groin injury.[13] Eventually,The Ultimate Fighter 5 winner and former lightweight title challengerNate Diaz was announced as the replacement and the bout took place in the welterweight division.[14]
AUFC Women's Bantamweight Championship bout between then championHolly Holm and formerStrikeforce Women's Bantamweight ChampionMiesha Tate co-headlined the event.[6]
Michael Johnson was expected to faceTony Ferguson in a lightweight rematch. On January 27, it was announced that Johnson withdrew from the bout due to injury. Ferguson was then rescheduled to fight atUFC on Fox 19 on April 16 againstKhabib Nurmagomedov.[15]
A welterweight bout betweenBrandon Thatch andSiyar Bahadurzada, originally slated forUFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Cowboy, was rescheduled to this event due to Thatch's medication being banned by Pennsylvania's athletic commission.[16]
| Main Card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Welterweight | Nate Diaz | def. | Conor McGregor | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 2 | 4:09 | |
| Women's Bantamweight | Miesha Tate | def. | Holly Holm (c) | Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) | 5 | 3:30 | [a] |
| Light Heavyweight | Ilir Latifi | def. | Gian Villante | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Corey Anderson | def. | Tom Lawlor | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Women's Bantamweight | Amanda Nunes | def. | Valentina Shevchenko | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–27, 29–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1) | |||||||
| Welterweight | Siyar Bahadurzada | def. | Brandon Thatch | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | 3 | 4:11 | |
| Welterweight | Nordine Taleb | def. | Erick Silva | KO (punches) | 2 | 1:34 | |
| Middleweight | Vitor Miranda | def. | Marcelo Guimarães | TKO (head kick and punches) | 2 | 1:09 | |
| Featherweight | Darren Elkins | def. | Chas Skelly | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–27, 30–26) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
| Lightweight | Diego Sanchez | def. | Jim Miller | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Jason Saggo | def. | Justin Salas | TKO (punches) | 1 | 4:31 | |
| Featherweight | Teruto Ishihara | def. | Julian Erosa | KO (punches) | 2 | 0:34 | |
The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses:[18]
The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to theNevada State Athletic Commission. It does not include sponsor money and also does not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses.[19]
