UFC 200
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Mixed martial arts promotion |
| Founded | November 12, 1993 |
| Founder | Art Davie, Rorion Gracie |
| Headquarters | Las Vegas , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Dana White (President) |
| Products | Mixed martial arts events and media |
| Owner | Endeavor Group Holdings (formerly WME-IMG) |
| Website | www |
UFC 200: Tate vs. Nunes was a mixed martial arts spectacle organized by the Ultimate Fighting Championship, taking place on July 9, 2016, at the T-Mobile Arena located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada.
This event represented the last UFC production under the leadership of Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, who had been at the helm since January 2001. Soon after, Zuffa disclosed its acquisition by a group led by WME-IMG, a talent agency headquartered in Beverly Hills, with additional investors including Silver Lake Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, and MSD Partners.
Background
UFC 200 marked the inaugural event at the recently inaugurated T-Mobile Arena (opened April 2016). It coincided with the UFC’s yearly International Fight Week and was notable as only the second occasion where the promotion hosted three events on three consecutive days.
Main event alterations: McGregor removed; Jones flagged for doping; Tate-Nunes elevated
Originally, a welterweight rematch between former lightweight title contender and The Ultimate Fighter 5 winner Nate Diaz and then reigning UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor was slated to headline. Their prior encounter occurred at UFC 196, where Diaz stepped in for an injured Rafael dos Anjos and secured victory via a second-round rear-naked choke.
On April 19, following a tweet from McGregor hinting at retirement, UFC announced his removal from the card, citing his refusal to attend a press conference while training in Iceland. McGregor later refuted retirement claims, explaining he requested reduced media duties to concentrate on fight preparation. Reports suggested that canceling this matchup potentially cost McGregor up to $10 million in earnings.
By April 27, UFC revealed a new main event: a unification rematch for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship between reigning champion Daniel Cormier and former titleholder Jon Jones. Their initial bout at UFC 182 ended with Jones retaining his belt via unanimous decision before losing it due to a hit-and-run incident. Cormier captured the vacant championship by defeating Anthony Johnson at UFC 187. The rematch was originally set for UFC 197, but was postponed after Cormier withdrew because of injury; Jones subsequently defeated replacement Ovince Saint Preux to claim the interim title.
Just three days prior to UFC 200, Jones was removed from the event by USADA following a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation detected in an out-of-competition test. Cormier expressed readiness to face an alternate opponent. Jones apologized but denied intentional use of banned substances; his "B" sample confirmed the violation, exposing him to a possible two-year suspension.
At UFC Fight Night: dos Anjos vs. Alvarez, former UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva accepted a last-minute offer to fight Cormier in a three-round non-title light heavyweight contest.
With these significant changes, the planned UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship clash between then-champion Miesha Tate and leading contender Amanda Nunes was elevated to serve as the event’s headlining bout.
Main card: a returning former champion; interim title decided
On June 4, mere hours prior to UFC 199, MMAFighting.com journalist Ariel Helwani disclosed that ex-Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar was nearing a comeback for this event, despite his ongoing WWE obligations. The UFC later confirmed this through a teaser aired during the UFC 199 broadcast. Following this revelation, Helwani was immediately removed and banned indefinitely from UFC events, prompting significant criticism from both media outlets and fans before his credentials were eventually restored. The UFC cited issues with Helwani’s reporting approach, a claim contested by MMAFighting.com.
Lesnar was set to compete against former interim title challenger and 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix victor Mark Hunt. After Jon Jones was pulled from the lineup, the Lesnar-Hunt bout temporarily became the main event but was later relegated to co-main status once the Tate-Nunes headliner was announced. Notably, Lesnar also served as the main attraction for UFC 100 and, along with Jim Miller, became one of only two fighters to appear on both landmark cards.
An interim UFC Featherweight Championship clash featured ex-champion José Aldo facing former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, revisiting their 2013 title encounter at UFC 156. Aldo secured victory once again via unanimous decision, claiming the interim featherweight title.
The main card commenced with a heavyweight bout pitting former two-time champion Cain Velasquez against Travis Browne.
High-profile undercard
The preliminary card included a women’s bantamweight fight between previous title contender Cat Zingano and The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate winner Julianna Peña. Additional Fox Sports 1 preliminaries featured:
- A welterweight matchup between ex-UFC Welterweight Champion Johny Hendricks and The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen winner Kelvin Gastelum.
- A bantamweight rematch involving former UFC Bantamweight Champion T.J. Dillashaw versus Raphael Assunção, who had previously defeated Dillashaw by split decision at UFC Fight Night in 2013.
- A lightweight contest initiating this segment of the event between Sage Northcutt and Enrique Marín.
A lightweight fight between Joe Lauzon and The Ultimate Fighter 1 winner and former title challenger Diego Sanchez, originally planned for UFC 180 but canceled due to injuries, was rescheduled to headline the UFC Fight Pass preliminaries.
A middleweight bout featuring ex-Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi against Derek Brunson underwent a last-minute change when Brunson withdrew because of injury; Thiago Santos stepped in as his replacement.
The event opened with a lightweight showdown between former PRIDE Lightweight Champion Takanori Gomi and Jim Miller.
Weigh-ins
Hendricks failed to make weight by 0.25 pounds, coming in at 171.25 pounds, and was denied a second attempt due to the early weigh-in cutoff at 10:00 a.m. As a result, he forfeited 20% of his fight purse, which was awarded to Gastelum.
Bonus awards
The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses:
- Fight of the Night: Not granted
- Performance of the Night: Amanda Nunes, Cain Velasquez, Joe Lauzon, and Gegard Mousasi
Reported payout
The disclosed fighter payouts submitted to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, excluding sponsorship earnings and UFC "fight night" bonuses, were as follows:
- Amanda Nunes: $100,000 (no win bonus) defeated Miesha Tate: $500,000
- Brock Lesnar: $2,500,000 (no win bonus) faced Mark Hunt: $700,000
- Daniel Cormier: $500,000 (no win bonus) defeated Anderson Silva: $600,000
- José Aldo: $500,000 (including a $100,000 win bonus) defeated Frankie Edgar: $190,000
- Cain Velasquez: $300,000 (no win bonus) defeated Travis Browne: $120,000
- Julianna Peña: $64,000 (with a $32,000 win bonus) defeated Cat Zingano: $35,000
- Kelvin Gastelum: $86,000 (including a $33,000 win bonus) defeated Johny Hendricks: $80,000 ^
- T.J. Dillashaw: $50,000 (including a $25,000 win bonus) defeated Raphael Assunção: $42,000
- Sage Northcutt: $100,000 (with a $50,000 win bonus) defeated Enrique Marín: $13,000
- Joe Lauzon: $108,000 (including a $54,000 win bonus) defeated Diego Sanchez: $80,000
- Gegard Mousasi: $110,000 (with a $35,000 win bonus) defeated Thiago Santos: $28,000
- Jim Miller: $118,000 (including a $59,000 win bonus) defeated Takanori Gomi: $55,000
^ Johny Hendricks was penalized 20% of his purse ($20,000) for missing weight; this amount was awarded to Gastelum.
Records set
This event achieved a record gate revenue of $10.7 million for any U.S. mixed martial arts event and attracted 18,202 spectators—the largest UFC attendance ever recorded in Nevada following 104 previous events. The total disclosed fighter payroll approached nearly $7 million ($6.98 million), establishing the highest combined fighter compensation in UFC history. Brock Lesnar’s reported payout of $2.5 million set a new benchmark for individual fighter earnings, exceeding Conor McGregor’s prior record from UFC 196 by $1.5 million.
Collaboration with Mike Judge
On September 15, 2010, Yahoo Sports announced that UFC president Dana White was partnering with Beavis and Butt-Head creator Mike Judge. A UFC enthusiast himself, Judge developed an exclusive animated short to promote UFC 200. This project also incorporated Hank Hill from King of the Hill, another creation by Judge—effectively merging elements of popular culture with UFC promotional strategies.
Aftermath
On July 15, USADA informed Brock Lesnar of a potential violation of its Anti-Doping Policy following an out-of-competition test conducted on June 28 at the WADA-accredited UCLA laboratory. Four days later, USADA disclosed a second positive test from samples taken during UFC 200 competition involving the same undisclosed substance. On July 23 it was confirmed that Lesnar tested positive for hydroxy-clomiphene—an anti-estrogen compound also associated with Jon Jones’ failed test. The Nevada Athletic Commission (NSAC) imposed a one-year suspension retroactive to the event date on Lesnar, overturned his victory to a no contest ruling, and fined him 10% of his fight purse. USADA issued an equivalent suspension retroactive to his provisional suspension date.
On July 18 NSAC confirmed Jon Jones tested positive for hydroxy-clomiphene and letrozole metabolites—both anti-estrogen agents—and extended his temporary suspension pending a formal hearing. On November 7 USADA announced a one-year suspension retroactive to July 6 for Jones. Two days later the UFC stripped him of the interim light heavyweight championship title. NSAC followed with a concurrent suspension after reaching a settlement in December.
These doping infractions had substantial effects on the UFC’s athlete lineup and regulatory compliance approach during this timeframe.