''UFC 201: Lawler vs. Woodley'' 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 produced 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 ( ...

held on July 30, 2016, at

Philips Arena State Farm Arena is a Multi-purpose stadium, multi-purpose arena located in Atlanta, Georgia. The arena serves as the home venue for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It also served as home to the Atlanta Thrasher ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Background

This was the third event that the organization has hosted in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, following UFC 88 in September 2008 and UFC 145 in April 2012. The event was headlined by a

UFC Welterweight 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 clas ...

bout between current champion

Robbie Lawler Robert Glenn Lawler (born March 20, 1982) is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed between 2001 and 2023. He is a former UFC Welterweight Champion, former EliteXC Middleweight Champion, and has formerly competed in ...

and Tyron Woodley. A UFC Flyweight Championship bout between current champion Demetrious Johnson and Wilson Reis was expected to serve as the co-main event. However, on July 8, it was announced that Johnson pulled out due to an undisclosed injury and the bout was rescheduled for UFC on Fox 24. Reis was expected to remain on the card against promotional newcomer Sean Santella, but a few days later Santella announced the bout was scrapped because the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

said "he needed to get more medicals done and there wasn't enough time". In turn, Reis faced Hector Sandoval, another newcomer. Cláudio Silva was expected to face Siyar Bahadurzada at the event. However, on June 16, Silva pulled out due to injury and was replaced by Jorge Masvidal. In turn, Bahadurzada pulled out of the bout on July 12 citing an illness and was replaced by The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom winner Ross Pearson.

Ray Borg Ray Borg (born August 4, 1993), is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Flyweight and Bantamweight divisions. A professional MMA competitor until 2023, Borg is best known for his 12–fight tenure in the Ultima ...

was expected to face Fredy Serrano at the event, but pulled out on July 21 due to injury and was replaced by Ryan Benoit. Justin Scoggins was expected to face Ian McCall in a

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing up to and including 51 kg (112 lb) for a title fight. Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of boxin ...

bout. However, two days before the event, Scoggins announced he was struggling during the weight cut and was not going to make the contracted weight. The

pulled Scoggins and canceled the bout and McCall still weighed in as an alternate. Scoggins announced he will move to

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

for his next fight. As a result, McCall reportedly received his fight purse and a "win" bonus.

Results

Bonus awards

The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses: *Fight of the Night: Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Rose Namajunas *Performance of the Night: Tyron Woodley and Jake Ellenberger

Reported payout

The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission. It does not include sponsor money and also does not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses. *Tyron Woodley: $340,000 (includes $70,000 win bonus) def. Robbie Lawler: $500,000 *Karolina Kowalkiewicz: $38,000 (includes $19,000 win bonus) def. Rose Namajunas: $46,000 *Jake Ellenberger: $150,000 (includes $75,000 win bonus) def. Matt Brown: $73,000 *Érik Pérez: $48,000 (includes $24,000 win bonus) def. Francisco Rivera: $23,000 *Ryan Benoit: $26,000 (includes $13,000 win bonus) def. Fredy Serrano: $12,000 *Nikita Krylov: $48,000 (includes $24,000 win bonus) def. Ed Herman: $51,000 *Jorge Masvidal: $114,000 (includes $57,000 win bonus) def. Ross Pearson: $54,000 *Anthony Hamilton: $32,000 (includes $16,000 win bonus) def. Damian Grabowski: $18,000 *Wilson Reis: $50,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus) def. Hector Sandoval: $12,000 *Michael Graves: $12,000 vs. Bojan Veličković: $14,000 ^ *Damien Brown: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Cesar Arzamendia: $10,000 ^ ''Both fighters earned show money; bout declared draw.''

Aftermath

On August 18, it was announced that USADA informed Francisco Rivera of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collection on July 23. Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.

References