UFC 212

UFC 212: Aldo vs. Holloway
The poster for UFC 212: Aldo vs. Holloway
Information
Promotion	Ultimate Fighting Championship
Date	June 3, 2017
Venue	Jeunesse Arena
City	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Attendance	15,412 [1]
Event chronology
UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Teixeira UFC 212: Aldo vs. Holloway UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Hunt

UFC 212: Aldo vs. Holloway was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on June 3, 2017, at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ^[2]

Background

A UFC Featherweight Championship unification bout between two-time champion José Aldo and interim champion Max Holloway served as the main event. ^{[2] [3]}

The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen middleweight winner Kelvin Gastelum was expected to face former UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva at the event. However, on April 6, 2017, he was pulled from the bout after he was flagged for a potential doping violation by USADA stemming from his most recent bout against Vitor Belfort. Gastelum tested positive for Carboxy-Tetrahydrocannabinol (Carboxy-THC) which is a metabolite of marijuana or hashish above the 180 ng/mL allowance by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) standard. The in-competition sample was collected on the night of Gastelum's fight on March 11 in Brazil. He has been placed on a provisional suspension as a result of the positive drug test and he will be afforded a full adjudication process. ^[4]

As of April 10, 2017, it was confirmed that former Strikeforce and UFC Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold was offered the fight and accepted it. ^[5] In turn, Silva dismissed the idea a day later, citing that Rockhold was coming from a loss and because of that it wouldn't make sense. Instead, Silva floated potential matchups with Uriah Hall or a rematch with semi-retired Nick Diaz. ^[6] On May 1, Silva gave the UFC an ultimatum: he wants to fight 2000 Olympic silver medalist and former world champion in freestyle wrestling Yoel Romero for the interim title or he will retire. ^[7] In turn, despite having two months to secure an opponent, Silva and promotion officials confirmed on May 11 that he would not compete at the event. ^{[8] [9]}

Felipe Arantes was expected to face Iuri Alcântara at the event. However, on May 11, Arantes was pulled from the fight due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by promotional newcomer Brian Kelleher. ^[10]

A lightweight bout between The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 2 welterweight winner Leonardo Santos and Olivier Aubin-Mercier was scheduled for this event, but was scrapped on May 18 after Aubin-Mercier got injured and Santos decided to pull out of the event. ^[11]

Results

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Featherweight	Max Holloway (ic)	def.	José Aldo (c)	TKO (punches)	3	4:13	[lower-alpha 1]
Women's Strawweight	Cláudia Gadelha	def.	Karolina Kowalkiewicz	Submission (rear-naked choke)	1	3:03
Middleweight	Vitor Belfort	def.	Nate Marquardt	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Middleweight	Paulo Costa	def.	Oluwale Bamgbose	TKO (punches)	2	1:06
Welterweight	Yancy Medeiros	def.	Erick Silva	TKO (punches)	2	2:01
Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1)
Bantamweight	Raphael Assunção	def.	Marlon Moraes	Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 30–27)	3	5:00
Middleweight	Antônio Carlos Júnior	def.	Eric Spicely	Submission (rear-naked choke)	2	3:49
Bantamweight	Matthew Lopez	def.	Johnny Eduardo	TKO (punches)	1	2:57
Bantamweight	Brian Kelleher	def.	Iuri Alcântara	Submission (guillotine choke)	1	1:48
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Women's Strawweight	Viviane Pereira	def.	Jamie Moyle	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Welterweight	Luan Chagas	def.	Jim Wallhead	Submission (rear-naked choke)	2	4:48
Flyweight	Deiveson Figueiredo	def.	Marco Beltrán	TKO (corner stoppage)	2	5:00

1. UFC Featherweight Championship unification bout.

^[12]

Bonus awards

The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses: ^[13]

• Fight of the Night: Max Holloway vs. José Aldo
• Performance of the Night:Cláudia Gadelha and Brian Kelleher

See also

• 2017 in UFC
• List of UFC events

References

1. Staff (June 4, 2017). "UFC 212 attendance draws announced attendance of 15,412 for undisclosed live gate". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved June 4, 2017.
2. Iolando Neto (February 10, 2017). "UFC 212: José Aldo and Max Holloway set to unify title". foxsports.com. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
3. Jim Edwards (February 10, 2017). "José Aldo vs. Max Holloway set for UFC 212 in Brazil". flocombat.com. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
4. Damon Martin (April 6, 2017). "Kelvin Gastelum pulled from fight with Anderson Silva after testing positive for marijuana". foxsports.com. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
5. Mike Bohn and Ken Hathaway (April 10, 2017). "Luke Rockhold offered to fight Anderson Silva at UFC 212; Dana White says it's 'a process'". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
6. Mike Bohn (April 11, 2017). "Anderson Silva dismisses potential Rockhold, Belfort matchups at UFC 212, open to Romero or Diaz rematch". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
7. Marc Raimondi (May 1, 2017). "Fired-up Anderson Silva says he'll retire if UFC doesn't book interim title fight against Yoel Romero". mmafighting.com. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
8. Gabriel Carvalho (May 8, 2017). "Anderson Silva announces he will not fight at UFC 212" (in Portuguese). olimpomma.com. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
9. Staff (May 11, 2017). "Yup, it's official: No Anderson Silva at UFC 212". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
10. Marcelo Barone and Marcelo Russio (May 11, 2017). "Sertanejo out, Iuri Marajó will face newcomer Brian Kelleher at UFC Rio 8" (in Portuguese). sportv.globo.com. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
11. Staff (May 18, 2017). "Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Leonardo Santos pulled from UFC 212 in Rio de Janeiro". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
12. "UFC 212: Aldo vs. Holloway". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
13. Staff (June 4, 2017). "UFC 212 bonuses: Brian Kelleher gets that $50K he called for in epic post-fight interview". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved June 4, 2017.