UFC 230
| Company type | Mixed martial arts event |
|---|---|
| Industry | Sports entertainment |
| Founded | November 3, 2018 |
| Headquarters | New York City, New York , United States |
Area served | Worldwide (via broadcast) |
| Products | Mixed martial arts competition |
UFC 230: Cormier vs. Lewis was a mixed martial arts competition organized by the Ultimate Fighting Championship, taking place on November 3, 2018, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.
Background
The main event featured a UFC Heavyweight Championship clash between reigning champion Daniel Cormier, who also held the Light Heavyweight title, and challenger Derrick Lewis.
Initially, the headline bout was scheduled to be a vacant UFC Women's Flyweight Championship fight between former UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship contender Valentina Shevchenko and Sijara Eubanks. However, this matchup was removed from the main event after the heavyweight title fight was announced. Shevchenko subsequently returned to her original contest at UFC 231, while Eubanks competed against former title contender Roxanne Modafferi at UFC 230.
A middleweight encounter between ex-interim UFC Middleweight Championship challenger and 2000 Olympic freestyle wrestling silver medalist Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa was planned but postponed following medical advice for Romero to delay competing due to facial injury recovery.
A lightweight bout featuring Dustin Poirier versus former UFC Lightweight Championship challenger Nate Diaz was anticipated but canceled after Poirier withdrew because of injury.
In bantamweight competition, Domingo Pilarte pulled out due to injury and was replaced by Montel Jackson to face off against Brian Kelleher. Nevertheless, Kelleher withdrew on the day of the event due to illness.
Sultan Aliev withdrew from his scheduled fight with former Bellator Welterweight Champion Lyman Good, with Ben Saunders stepping in as his replacement.
A middleweight rematch between former champions Luke Rockhold (also ex-Strikeforce Middleweight Champion) and Chris Weidman was arranged. Rockhold withdrew because of injuries, leading to former Strikeforce champion Ronaldo Souza taking his place. Souza’s initial opponent, former WSOF Middleweight and Light Heavyweight Champion David Branch, instead faced off against Jared Cannonier.
Ruslan Magomedov was forced to withdraw from his bout with Marcos Rogério de Lima due to visa complications; he was substituted by Adam Wieczorek.
During weigh-ins, both Eubanks (127.2 lbs) and Kelleher (137 lbs) failed to make weight, resulting in penalties amounting to 20% of their fight purses, which were awarded to their respective opponents Modafferi and Jackson.
Bonus awards
Monetary bonuses of $50,000 were granted as follows:
- Fight of the Night: Ronaldo Souza vs. Chris Weidman
- Performance of the Night: Jared Cannonier and Israel Adesanya