UFC 178
The event was supposed to be headlined by a UFC Light Heavyweight Championship rematch between champion Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson.[2] Jones won their first fight at UFC 165 by unanimous decision.[3] Gustafsson pulled out of the bout due to a torn right meniscus and lateral collateral ligament. He was replaced by Daniel Cormier on July 23.[4]However, on August 12, Jones was forced to pull out of the bout against Cormier citing a leg injury. The fight will now take place at UFC 182.[5] As a result, a Flyweight Title fight between Demetrious Johnson and Chris Cariaso was moved fromUFC 177 to headline this card.[6]
The event marked the return of former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, after nearly three years on the sideline, first with a coaching assignment on The Ultimate Fighter 15, then with various lengthy injury rehabilitations. He is scheduled to fight Takeya Mizugaki.[7]
A lightweight bout between Donald Cerrone and Khabib Nurmagomedov was briefly linked to this event.[8] The pairing was cancelled after Nurmagomedov suffered a knee injury that will sideline him indefinitely.[9]
Jorge Masvidal and Bobby Green were originally scheduled to face each other on this card.[10] However, on August 14, the UFC announced that Green would now face Donald Cerrone and Masvidal would face James Krause.[11]
On August 19, following his release from Bellator MMA, Eddie Alvarez signed with the UFC and made his debut against Donald Cerrone in the co-main event for the card. Bobby Green, Cerrone's earlier opponent, was booked for a future fight card against a new opponent
Official fight card[edit]
| Fight card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Flyweight | Demetrious Johnson (c) | def. | Chris Cariaso | Submission (kimura) | 2 | 2:29 | [a] |
| Lightweight | Donald Cerrone | def. | Eddie Alvarez | Decision (unanimous) (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Conor McGregor | def. | Dustin Poirier | TKO (punches) | 1 | 1:46 | |
| Middleweight | Yoel Romero | def. | Tim Kennedy | TKO (punches) | 3 | 0:58 | |
| Women's Bantamweight | Cat Zingano | def. | Amanda Nunes | TKO (elbows & punches) | 3 | 1:21 | |
| Preliminary card (Fox Sports 1) | |||||||
| Bantamweight | Dominick Cruz | def. | Takeya Mizugaki | KO (punches) | 1 | 1:01 | |
| Lightweight | Jorge Masvidal | def. | James Krause | Decision (unanimous) (30-27, 29-28, 30-27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Stephen Thompson | def. | Patrick Côté | Decision (unanimous) (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Brian Ebersole | def. | John Howard | Decision (split) (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary card (UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
| Lightweight | Kevin Lee | def. | Jon Tuck | Decision (unanimous) (30-26, 30-26, 30-26) | 3 | 5:00 | [b] |
| Bantamweight | Manvel Gamburyan | def. | Cody Gibson | Submission (guillotine choke) | 2 | 4:56 | |
