| UFC 201: Lawler vs. Woodley | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 201: Lawler vs. Woodley | ||||
| Information | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | July 30, 2016 | |||
| Venue | Philips Arena | |||
| City | Atlanta, Georgia | |||
| Attendance | 10,240 [1] | |||
| Total gate | $1,070,000 [1] | |||
| Buyrate | 240,000 [2] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC 201: Lawler vs. Woodley was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 30, 2016, at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. [3]
This was the third event that the organization has hosted in Atlanta, following UFC 88 in September 2008 and UFC 145 in April 2012. [3]
The event was headlined by a UFC Welterweight Championship bout between then champion Robbie Lawler and top contender Tyron Woodley. [4]
A UFC Flyweight Championship bout between current champion Demetrious Johnson and challenger Wilson Reis was expected to serve as the co-main event. [5] However, on July 8, it was announced that Johnson pulled out due to an undisclosed injury and the bout was rescheduled for UFC on Fox 24. [6] Reis was expected to remain on the card against promotional newcomer Sean Santella, [7] but a few days later Santella announced the bout was scrapped because the UFC said "he needed to get more medicals done and there wasn't enough time". [8] In turn, Reis faced Hector Sandoval, another newcomer. [9]
Cláudio Silva was expected to face Siyar Bahadurzada at the event. However, on June 16, Silva pulled out due to injury and was replaced by Jorge Masvidal. [10] In turn, Bahadurzada pulled out of the bout on July 12 citing an illness and was replaced by The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom winner Ross Pearson. [11] [12]
Ray Borg was expected to face Fredy Serrano at the event, but pulled out on July 21 due to injury and was replaced by Ryan Benoit. [13]
Justin Scoggins was expected to face Ian McCall in a flyweight bout. However, two days before the event, Scoggins announced he was struggling during the weight cut and was not going to make the contracted weight. The UFC pulled Scoggins and canceled the bout and McCall still weighed in as an alternate. Scoggins announced he will move to bantamweight for his next fight. [14] As a result, McCall reportedly received his fight purse and a "win" bonus. [15]
| Main Card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Welterweight | Tyron Woodley | def. | Robbie Lawler (c) | KO (punches) | 1 | 2:12 | [lower-alpha 1] |
| Women's Strawweight | Karolina Kowalkiewicz | def. | Rose Namajunas | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Jake Ellenberger | def. | Matt Brown | TKO (body kick and punches) | 1 | 1:46 | |
| Bantamweight | Érik Pérez | def. | Francisco Rivera | Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 30–26, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Flyweight | Ryan Benoit | def. | Fredy Serrano | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 2) | |||||||
| Light Heavyweight | Nikita Krylov | def. | Ed Herman | KO (head kick) | 2 | 0:40 | |
| Welterweight | Jorge Masvidal | def. | Ross Pearson | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Heavyweight | Anthony Hamilton | def. | Damian Grabowski | KO (punches) | 1 | 0:14 | |
| Flyweight | Wilson Reis | def. | Hector Sandoval | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 1 | 1:49 | |
| Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
| Welterweight | Michael Graves | vs. | Bojan Veličković | Draw (majority) (30–27, 28–28, 28–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Damien Brown | def. | Cesar Arzamendia | KO (punches) | 1 | 2:27 | |
The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses: [17]
The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission. It does not include sponsor money and also does not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses. [18]
^ Both fighters earned show money; bout declared draw. [18]
On August 18, it was announced that USADA informed Francisco Rivera of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collection on July 23. Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward. [19]
Robert Glenn Lawler is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed between 2001 and 2023. He is a former UFC Welterweight Champion, former EliteXC Middleweight Champion, and has formerly competed in Strikeforce, PRIDE, and the IFL. Nicknamed "Ruthless", he is known for his aggressive fighting style, and was considered a fan favorite. Three of Lawler's title bouts, against Johny Hendricks, Rory MacDonald, and Carlos Condit earned numerous awards for the Fight of the Year in their respective years.
Siyar Bahadurzada is a retired Afghan-born Dutch mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, making him the first Afghan to compete in the promotion. He currently works as an instructor for Evolve MMA in Singapore. A professional competitor since 2001, he had also competed for World Victory Road, RINGS, and for Shooto, in which he held the title of Shooto Middleweight Champion.
Tyron Lakent Woodley is an American former professional mixed martial artist and professional boxer. He is a former UFC Welterweight Champion who defended his title four times. A professional since 2009, Woodley also competed at Strikeforce and was an NCAA Division I collegiate wrestler for the Missouri Tigers, becoming a two-time All-American and Big 12 Conference champion.
Tarec Robert Saffiedine is a Belgian former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, Saffiedine has also formerly competed for DREAM and Strikeforce, and was the last Strikeforce Welterweight Champion.
Tim Elliott is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is the former Titan FC Flyweight Champion. He has been professional competitor since 2009 and is in his second tenure with the UFC. He is a four-time winner of bonuses in the UFC, winning Fight of the Night three times, Performance of the Night once and won The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions. As of June 18, 2024, he is #11 in the UFC flyweight rankings.
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