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''UFC 194: Aldo vs. McGregor'' was a
mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...
event held by the
Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...
on December 12, 2015, at the
MGM Grand Garden Arena The MGM Grand Garden Arena is a 17,000-seat multi-purpose arena within the MGM Grand Las Vegas, MGM Grand resort, located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The venue opened on December 31, 1993, with a concert by Barbra Streisand, and s ...
in
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
, Nevada.


Background

The event was originally scheduled to take place on December 5. However, the
MGM Grand Garden Arena The MGM Grand Garden Arena is a 17,000-seat multi-purpose arena within the MGM Grand Las Vegas, MGM Grand resort, located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The venue opened on December 31, 1993, with a concert by Barbra Streisand, and s ...
had already been booked for an
Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor. He rose to fame in 1994 after winning the newcomers' section of the 44th Sanremo Music Festival performing " Il mare calmo della sera". Since 1994, Bocelli has recorded 15 solo st ...
concert, prompting the UFC to look at alternative venues such as the
Mandalay Bay Events Center The Michelob Ultra Arena, formerly the Mandalay Bay Events Center, is a 12,000-seat multi-purpose indoor arena at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by MGM Resorts Int ...
. The
AT&T Stadium AT&T Stadium is a retractable roof stadium in Arlington, Texas, United States. It serves as the home of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL), and was completed on May 27, 2009. It is also the home of the Cotton Bowl Classic ...
in
Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal c ...
was the most relevant venue under consideration, which would likely have made the event the highest attended in the promotion's history. Subsequently, on August 10, UFC president
Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who is the CEO and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at . Out ...
confirmed the event would take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, albeit one week later on December 12. This event marked the first time the UFC has ever scheduled three events in consecutive days, with all of them taking place in Las Vegas. Instead of the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the other two events were held at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan. The event was headlined by a UFC Featherweight Championship unification bout between then champion Prady
José Aldo José Aldo da Silva Oliveira Júnior (; born 9 September 1986), known as José Aldo, is a Brazilian former professional mixed martial artist and professional boxer who competed in the Bantamweight and Featherweight divisions of the Ultimate F ...
and then interim champion
Conor McGregor Conor Anthony McGregor (born 14 July 1988) is an Irish professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) UFC Featherweight Championship, Featherweight and UFC Lightweight Championship, Li ...
. The bout was originally expected to take place at UFC 189. However, Aldo pulled out of the bout due to a rib injury and the event was instead headlined by an interim title bout between McGregor and
Chad Mendes Chad Eduardo Mendes (born May 1, 1985)Archived
from th ...
. The co-main event featured a
UFC Middleweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight class ...
bout between then undefeated champion Chris Weidman and former Strikeforce Middleweight champion Luke Rockhold. A middleweight bout between
Ronaldo Souza Ronaldo Souza dos Santos (born 7 December 1979), nicknamed " Jacaré" (), is a Brazilian former professional mixed martial artist, submission grappler and 4th degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. Souza was a multiple time BJJ World ch ...
and
Yoel Romero Yoel Romero Palacio (born April 30, 1977) is a Cuban professional mixed martial artist and former freestyle wrestler who currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division. Romero formerly competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate ...
was originally booked for UFC 184 and later '' UFC on Fox: Machida vs. Rockhold''. However, the bout was cancelled both times due to Souza being struck with pneumonia and Romero pulling out due to a ligament and meniscus tear in his knee, respectively. The fight was later rescheduled for this event.
Michelle Waterson Michelle Eileen Waterson-Gomez (born January 6, 1986) is an American former mixed martial artist, actress, stuntwoman, and model who competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She is the former Invicta FC Atomweight Champion. Betwe ...
was expected to face
Tecia Torres Tecia Moncaio; born August 16, 1989, is an American mixed martial artist who is currently competing in the women's Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of May 6, 2025, she is #13 in the UFC women's strawweight r ...
at the event. However, Waterson pulled out of the bout on November 24 citing an injury. She was replaced by promotional newcomer Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger. On January 13, Romero was informed of a potential doping violation stemming from an out of competition test conducted by USADA. On February 8, Romero and his manager explained that he took a supplement after his fight and that supplement turned out to be contaminated. His team and USADA both sent out the supplement for testing and it came back that it contained a banned substance. That substance was not listed on the label, his manager said. They did not want to reveal the name of the supplement or the substance, because USADA was investigating the issue. On March 23, it was announced that Romero would appeal his suspension. His team and USADA discussed a deal for a nine-month suspension for the fighter, but Romero preferred to go to arbitration. The typical USADA anti-doping violation suspension is two years. Eventually on April 4, both parts reached an agreement for a six-month suspension. USADA revealed that Romero tested positive for
ibutamoren Ibutamoren (; developmental code MK-677, MK-0677, LUM-201, L-163,191; former tentative brand name Oratrope) is a potency (pharmacology), potent, long-acting, oral administration, orally-active, binding selectivity, selective, and small molecule, ...
, a
growth hormone Growth hormone (GH) or somatotropin, also known as human growth hormone (hGH or HGH) in its human form, is a peptide hormone that stimulates growth, cell reproduction, and cell regeneration in humans and other animals. It is thus important in ...
release stimulator. The supplement was tested and the banned substance did indeed come up, even though it was not listed on the label. Romero announced that he'll pursue legal action against the supplement company within the next few weeks. The result of the fight was not disqualified or overturned.


McGregor vs. Aldo fight

Before the opening of the first round, they refused to touch gloves and went immediately into combat. As the fight started, McGregor took control of the center of the octagon. When Aldo got within his range, McGregor threw a straight left hand to keep Aldo away. The punch did not hit its target. McGregor then followed with a leg kick that connected. As Aldo charged forward to connect with a right-left punch combination, McGregor moved backwards and connected with a left hook that landed on Aldo's chin and rendered him unconscious. Both punches connected, but McGregor's left punch landed first. As Aldo fell to the ground, McGregor connected with two hammer fists until the referee ( Big John McCarthy) stepped in to stop the fight. When the fight was over, McGregor leaped atop the fence and celebrated his victory. Within a minute, Aldo regained consciousness and was on his feet. The bout lasted 13 seconds. The knockout was the fastest finish in UFC title fight history. “Again, nobody can take that left-hand shot,” said McGregor in the post-fight interview. “ ldo'spowerful and he's fast. But precision beats power, and timing beats speed. And that’s what you saw there.”


Results


Bonus awards

The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses: *Fight of the Night: Luke Rockhold vs. Chris Weidman *Performance of the Night: Conor McGregor and Leonardo Santos


Reported payout

The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the
Nevada State Athletic Commission The Nevada State Athletic Commission (also known as the Nevada Athletic Commission or NSAC) regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of Nevada, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, kickboxer ...
. It does not include sponsor money and also does not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses. * Conor McGregor: $500,000 (no win bonus) def. José Aldo: $400,000 * Luke Rockhold: $160,000 (includes $80,000 win bonus) def. Chris Weidman: $275,000 * Yoel Romero: $150,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus) def. Ronaldo Souza: $135,000 * Demian Maia: $156,000 (includes $78,000 win bonus) def. Gunnar Nelson: $75,000 * Max Holloway: $90,000 (includes $45,000 win bonus) def. Jeremy Stephens: $43,000 * Urijah Faber: $300,000 (includes $150,000 win bonus) def. Frankie Saenz: $20,000 * Tecia Torres: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus) def. Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger: $10,000 * Warlley Alves: $42,000 (includes $21,000 win bonus) def. Colby Covington: $18,000 * Leonardo Santos: $40,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus) def. Kevin Lee: $21,000 * Magomed Mustafaev: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus) def. Joe Proctor: $13,000 * Yancy Medeiros: $42,000 (includes $21,000 win bonus) def. John Makdessi: $30,000 * Court McGee: $48,000 (includes $24,000 win bonus) def. Marcio Alexandre Jr.: $12,000


See also

*
List of UFC events List of UFC events is a list of events held and scheduled by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. UFC's first event, UFC 1, took place on November 12, 1993. Each UFC event contains ...
* 2015 in UFC


References

{{UFC Events 2015 in sports in Nevada Ultimate Fighting Championship flagship events 2015 in mixed martial arts December 2015 sports events in the United States Ultimate Fighting Championship events at MGM Grand Garden Arena