''UFC 198: Werdum vs. Miocic'' 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 on May 14, 2016, at
Arena da Baixada in
Curitiba
Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Southern Brazil. The city's population was 1,773,718 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the larg ...
,
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
.
Background
The event was initially announced as a ''Fight Night'' event with a middleweight bout between former
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Vitor Belfort and former
Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Ronaldo Souza scheduled to serve as headliner. However, it was reported by Brazilian media that this event would become UFC 198 following a series of events in January 2016 that led to
the originally planned UFC 196 becoming a UFC Fight Night following a series of cancellations.
On March 4, it was confirmed that the event was indeed changed to PPV and it would be headlined by a
UFC Heavyweight Championship bout between champion
Fabrício Werdum and top contender
Stipe Miocic.
They were briefly scheduled to meet at the
original UFC 196, as Miocic replaced former two-time champion
Cain Velasquez. In turn, Werdum announced on the following day that he was pulling out of the event due to injury as well as he wasn't comfortable with the opponent change while dealing with injuries of his own.
The event was the first that the promotion hosted in
Curitiba
Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Southern Brazil. The city's population was 1,773,718 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the larg ...
. It was the fourth
stadium venue to host a UFC event after
UFC 129 at the
Rogers Centre
Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a retractable roof stadium in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, it is home to t ...
in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
,
UFC on Fox: Gustafsson vs. Johnson at the
Tele2 Arena in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
and
UFC 193 at the
Etihad Stadium in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
.
A lightweight bout between
Evan Dunham and
The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 2 winner
Leonardo Santos, originally scheduled for this event, was moved to
UFC 199 after a minor injury to Dunham delayed the matchup a few weeks.
The event featured the long anticipated debut of Curitiba native
Cris Cyborg, former
Strikeforce Women's Featherweight Champion and current
Invicta FC Featherweight Champion, in a catchweight bout of 140 lb against
Leslie Smith.
Kamaru Usman
Kamarudeen Usman (born May 11, 1987) is a Nigerian-American professional mixed martial artist, former freestyle wrestler, and graduated folkstyle wrestler. He currently competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championsh ...
was expected to face
Sérgio Moraes at the event. However, he pulled out two weeks before the event due to injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer
Luan Chagas.
Former
UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva was expected to face
Uriah Hall at the event. However, Silva pulled out just four days before the event with a clinical condition that indicated acute
cholecystitis
Cholecystitis is inflammation of the gallbladder. Symptoms include Right upper quadrant (abdomen), right upper abdominal pain, pain in the right shoulder, nausea, vomiting, and occasionally fever. Often gallbladder attacks (biliary colic) precede ...
and required surgical intervention. The UFC wanted to find a replacement for him, but Hall opted against that.
During the main card broadcast, the UFC announced that former interim
UFC Heavyweight Champion and
Pride Heavyweight Champion Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira would be inducted to the UFC's Hall of Fame at the "International Fight Week" in July, one day after
UFC 200.
Results
Bonus awards
The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses:
*Fight of the Night: Francisco Trinaldo vs. Yancy Medeiros
*Performance of the Night: Stipe Miocic and Ronaldo Souza
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 ...
*
2016 in UFC
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:UFC 198
Ultimate Fighting Championship flagship events
2016 in mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts in Brazil
2016 in Brazilian sport
Sport in Curitiba
May 2016 sports events in South America
21st century in Curitiba