was riding a three fight win streak leading up to this event, including a submission victory over Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, a friend and mentor of Junior dos Santos, at UFC 140. Nogueira refused to tap to the kimura lock submission attempt, until it broke after his arm snapped under the pressure, then he tapped. Not only was Mir the first fighter to ever submit Nogueira, but he did so in devastating fashion. This was the first title defense for dos Santos since winning the belt by knocking out Cain Velasquez in November 2011 at. UFC Primetime returned to promote the UFC Heavyweight Championship between Mir and dos Santos. The heavyweight championship at UFC 146 was the featured fight on the main card, which for the first time in UFC history had all heavyweight bouts. Evan Dunham was expected to face Edson Barboza at the event. However, Dunham was forced from the event with an injury and replaced by returning veteran Jamie Varner. Mark Hunt was originally scheduled to face Stefan Struve on the main card. However, on May 17, 2012, Hunt withdrew from the bout due to injury and was replaced by Lavar Johnson.
Originally scheduled to headline the event was a Heavyweight Championship bout between one of UFC's newest stars, Alistair Overeem, and champion Junior dos Santos. On April 4, 2012, however, the Nevada State Athletic Commission announced Overeem had failed his pre-fight drug test. Overeem's March drug test showed a 14:1 testosterone-epitestosterone ratio, according to the NSAC. This resulted in a considerable shake up of the matches on the main card. On April 20, 2012, UFC President Dana White announced that Junior dos Santos would now defend his title against Frank Mir instead. Two days later, White announced Cain Velasquez would face Antônio Silva. Roy Nelson faced Dave Herman. And Shane del Rosario faced Stipe Miocic.
Submission of the Night: Stefan Struve and Paul Sass
Reported payout
The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. It does not include sponsor money and also does not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses.
Junior dos Santos: $200,000 def. Frank Mir: $200,000
Cain Velasquez: $200,000 def. Antonio Silva: $70,000
Roy Nelson: $40,000 def. Dave Herman: $21,000
Stipe Miocic: $20,000 def. Shane del Rosario: $20,000
Stefan Struve: $58,000 def. Lavar Johnson: $26,000
Darren Elkins: $28,000 def. Diego Brandao: $15,000
