A UFC Heavyweight Championship rematch between current champion Daniel Cormier and former champion Stipe Miocic served as the event's headliner. The pairing met previously at UFC 226 on July 7, 2018 when then UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Cormier knocked out Miocic in the first round to capture the heavyweight title. A middleweight bout between former interim UFC Middleweight Championship challenger Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa was rescheduled for this event. The pairing was previously scheduled to take place at UFC 230, at and again at but was scrapped each time for various reasons. A lightweight bout was scheduled between John Makdessi and Devonte Smith for the event. However, it was reported on July 30 that Makdessi was forced to withdraw for undisclosed reasons. Returning veteran Clay Collard was briefly linked as the replacement. In turn, Collard was removed from the bout during the week leading up to the event due to an undisclosed medical issue. Smith instead fought promotional newcomer Khama Worthy. A flyweight bout was scheduled between Maryna Moroz and Poliana Botelho for the event. However, it was reported on August 1 that Moroz was forced to pull from the event citing injury. In early August, Botelho announced via social media that she was no longer participating in the event. Manny Bermudez and Casey Kenney were originally scheduled to fight at bantamweight. However, the UFC decided to move the bout to a catchweight bout of 140 lb due to Bermudez not being able to safely cut weightthe night before weigh-ins. According to Kenney, he received a part of Bermudez's purse despite him not technically missing weight.
Results
Bonus awards
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.
Fight of the Night: Paulo Costa vs. Yoel Romero
Performance of the Night: Stipe Miocic and Khama Worthy
Reported payout
The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the California State Athletic Commission. It does not include sponsor money and also does not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses. The total disclosed payout for the event was $3,318,000.
Stipe Miocic: $750,000 def. Daniel Cormier: $500,000
Nate Diaz: $250,000 def. Anthony Pettis: $155,000
Paulo Costa: $120,000 def. Yoel Romero: $150,000
Sodiq Yusuff: $28,000 def. Gabriel Benítez: $40,000
Derek Brunson: $190,000 def. Ian Heinisch: $25,000