This was the first UFC event in Cleveland. The event was headlined by a UFC Heavyweight Championship bout between current champion Stipe Miocic against 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix winner and former Strikeforce Heavyweight ChampionAlistair Overeem. The professional debut of former professional wrestlerCM Punk took place at this event. Punk, who signed with the UFC in December 2014, had a delayed debut due to past injuries from professional wrestling that needed treatment and also due to his need for training time. He made his debut against Mickey Gall in a welterweight bout. was originally announced during the UFC 181 broadcast on December 6, 2014. Ben Rothwell was expected to face former heavyweight championFabrício Werdum at this event. However, on August 11, Rothwell pulled out due to injury. A team representative said he may have suffered a torn meniscus and could have an ACL injury. He was replaced by Travis Browne. This was a rematch as Werdum defeated Browne via unanimous decision at in 2014. A lightweight bout between Erik Koch and Drew Dober was originally booked for UFC 195, but Koch pulled out due to an injury and the bout was scrapped. The fight was later rescheduled for this event, until Koch pulled out again due to injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer Jason Gonzalez. Mairbek Taisumov was expected to face Nik Lentz at the event. However, Taisumov was removed from the fight on September 1 for alleged visa issues and replaced by promotional newcomer Michael McBride. On September 5, it was announced that the lightweight bout between Damir Hadžović and Yusuke Kasuya, slated to open the preliminary portion of the card, was postponed and will now take place at October's after Hadžović experienced issues with his travel visa. Ray Borg was scheduled to face Ian McCall at the event. However, Borg pulled out of the fight on September 7 citing an illness. With no time to find a suitable replacement, McCall was removed from the card. Michael McBride missed weight, coming in at 158 lb. As a result, he was fined 20% of his fight purse, which went to his opponent Nik Lentz. On the day of the event, C.B. Dollaway was forced out of his bout against Francimar Barroso due to a back injury he sustained in a malfunctioning elevator at his hotel. As a result, Barroso was also removed from the event.
Results
Bonus awards
The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses:
Fight of the Night: Stipe Miocic vs. Alistair Overeem
Performance of the Night:Jéssica Andrade and Yancy Medeiros
Reported payout
The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the Ohio Athletic Commission. It does not include sponsor money or "locker room" bonuses often given by the UFC and also do not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses. The total disclosed payout for the event was $3,056,000.
Nik Lentz: $76,000 def. Michael McBride: $12,000 ^
Drew Dober: $38,000 def. Jason Gonzalez: $10,000
Yancy Medeiros: $48,000 def. Sean Spencer: $17,000
^ Michael McBride was fined 20 percent of his purse for failing to make the required weight for his fight with Nik Lentz. That money was issued to Lentz, an OAC official confirmed.
