UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Gastelum
| Company type | Mixed martial arts event |
|---|---|
| Industry | Mixed martial arts |
| Founded | November 25, 2017 |
| Headquarters | Shanghai , China |
| Products | UFC fights |
UFC Fight Night: Bisping vs. Gastelum (also known as UFC Fight Night 122) was a mixed martial arts competition organized by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 25, 2017. The event took place at the Mercedes Benz Arena located in Shanghai, China.
Background
This occasion represented the UFC's inaugural event held within Mainland China, following three previous shows conducted in Macau since 2012.
Initially, the headline bout was set to feature a middleweight clash between former UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva and Kelvin Gastelum, who earned recognition as the victor of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen. The pairing had been arranged for UFC 212; however, Gastelum was removed after testing positive for Carboxy-THC above the thresholds established by WADA. Subsequently, Silva withdrew from UFC 212 due to the absence of an opponent.
On November 10, Silva failed an out-of-competition drug screening and was consequently taken off the Shanghai fight card. To replace him, former UFC Middleweight Champion and The Ultimate Fighter 3 light heavyweight winner Michael Bisping was announced as Gastelum’s new adversary. Notably, Bisping had lost his middleweight title to Georges St-Pierre at UFC 217 just three weeks earlier.
Furthermore, James Mulheron was withdrawn from the lineup after failing a drug test; his scheduled opponent Cyril Asker instead faced promotional debutant Hu Yaozong.
Promotional newcomers Liu Pingyuan and Bharat Khandare were originally matched to compete, but Liu’s withdrawal led to fellow newcomer Song Yadong stepping in as his replacement.
At the official weigh-ins, Rolando Dy exceeded the featherweight limit by two pounds; the bout proceeded at catchweight with Dy surrendering 20% of his fight purse to his opponent Wuliji Buren.
Bonus awards
A $50,000 bonus was awarded to fighters as follows:
- Fight of the Night: No award given
- Performance of the Night: Kelvin Gastelum, Li Jingliang, Zabit Magomedsharipov, Song Kenan, and Song Yadong.
Aftermath
On January 30, 2018, James Mulheron accepted a suspension lasting one year after testing positive for clomiphene and hydroxyclomiphene. Subsequently, on February 1, Anderson Silva was reported to have tested positive for methyltestosterone and a diuretic substance. Silva received a one-year suspension retroactive to November 10, 2017, as USADA determined his second positive test resulted from contaminated supplements obtained from a compounding pharmacy.