| UFC 216: Ferguson vs. Lee | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 216: Ferguson vs. Lee | ||||
| Information | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | October 7, 2017 | |||
| Venue | T-Mobile Arena | |||
| City | Paradise, Nevada | |||
| Attendance | 10,638 [1] | |||
| Total gate | $677,999.50 [1] | |||
| Buyrate | 200,000 [2] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC 216: Ferguson vs. Lee was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on October 7, 2017 at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas metropolitan area. [3]
A UFC Heavyweight Championship bout between former UFC Heavyweight champions Stipe Miocic and Cain Velasquez was initially targeted to headline this event. [4] After that pairing failed to materialize, the promotion announced plans for an interim UFC Lightweight Championship bout between The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos welterweight winner Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee to serve as the main event. [5] [6]
A UFC Flyweight Championship bout between former Flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson and Ray Borg was expected to headline UFC 215. [7] However, the fight was canceled a day before the event, as Borg was forced to withdraw from the fight due to illness. His illness was unrelated to his weight cut, sources say. [8] The fight was later rescheduled for this event. If successful, Johnson would have the all-time most consecutive UFC title defenses in any division, with eleven. [9]
Abel Trujillo was expected to face Lando Vannata at the event. However, Trujillo was removed from the card on August 14 for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Bobby Green. [10]
Paige VanZant was expected to face Jessica Eye at the event. However, VanZant pulled out of the fight on September 25 citing a back injury. Subsequently, Eye was pulled from the card and is expected to be rescheduled against a different opponent at a future event. [11]
A women's flyweight bout between promotional newcomers Andrea Lee and Kalindra Faria was expected to be a late addition to this event, as it was announced on September 28. [12] However a few hours later, it was revealed that Lee was pulled from the contest as she didn't go through the USADA testing pool for six months. Usually short notice fights do not need to follow such rule, but since she has failed a drug test in the past, Lee must fulfill that requirement. [13] She was replaced by fellow promotional newcomer Mara Romero Borella. [14]
A lightweight bout between Nik Lentz and former Bellator Lightweight Champion Will Brooks was slated for the preliminary portion of the card. However the pairing was scrapped during the weigh-ins for the event, as Lentz was stricken with "medical issues" and deemed unfit to compete. [15]
A heavyweight bout between former heavyweight champion Fabrício Werdum and Derrick Lewis was slated for the main card. However, the fight was scrapped the day of the event when Lewis couldn't move due to back pain from a previous back injury. As a result, Walt Harris, who was originally scheduled to face Mark Godbeer in a preliminary bout, was tabbed as a short-notice opponent for Werdum. [16]
| Main Card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Lightweight | Tony Ferguson | def. | Kevin Lee | Submission (triangle choke) | 3 | 4:02 | [lower-alpha 1] |
| Flyweight | Demetrious Johnson (c) | def. | Ray Borg | Submission (flying armbar) | 5 | 3:15 | [lower-alpha 2] |
| Heavyweight | Fabrício Werdum | def. | Walt Harris | Submission (armbar) | 1 | 1:05 | |
| Women's Flyweight | Mara Romero Borella | def. | Kalindra Faria | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 1 | 2:54 | |
| Lightweight | Beneil Dariush | vs. | Evan Dunham | Draw (majority) (29–28, 28–28, 28–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary Card (FX) | |||||||
| Bantamweight | Cody Stamann | def. | Tom Duquesnoy | Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Lando Vannata | vs. | Bobby Green | Draw (split) (29–27, 27–29, 28–28) | 3 | 5:00 | [lower-alpha 3] |
| Women's Strawweight | Poliana Botelho | def. | Pearl Gonzalez | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Flyweight | Matt Schnell | def. | Marco Beltrán | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
| Flyweight | John Moraga | def. | Magomed Bibulatov | KO (punch) | 1 | 1:38 | |
| Middleweight | Brad Tavares | def. | Thales Leites | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–26, 30–26) | 3 | 5:00 | |
The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses: [18]
The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. It does not include sponsor money and also does not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses. The total disclosed payout for the event was $2,178,000. [19]
Although not included on the NSAC's initial report, Mark Godbeer ($15,000/$15,000) was paid his show purse and a win bonus after he was removed from his scheduled bout with Walt Harris on the day of the event. [19]
With his win, Johnson broke Anderson Silva's record for most consecutive title defenses (11). [20]
Bobby Green is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2008, Green is the former King of the Cage Lightweight Champion and Junior Welterweight Champion, and in addition he has also competed in Tachi Palace Fights, Strikeforce, and Affliction. As of April 16, 2024, he is #15 in the UFC lightweight rankings.
Demetrious Khrisna Johnson is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in ONE Championship, where he is the current ONE Flyweight Champion. He is the inaugural and former UFC Flyweight Champion. Known for his quick striking and elusive movement, Johnson co-holds the record for the latest finish in UFC history with a submission win at 4:59 of the fifth round against Kyoji Horiguchi. Johnson also holds the record for most finishes in UFC flyweight history with 7. Johnson is widely regarded as one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time and is even considered to be the greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time.
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Anthony Armand Ferguson Padilla is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a former Interim UFC Lightweight Champion. Ferguson debuted in 2008, and has been with the UFC since he won The Ultimate Fighter 13 in 2011. He is trained in freestyle wrestling, boxing, jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai, and Wing Chun.
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