The event was headlined by a Middleweight Championship bout between the current champion Chris Weidman and former UFC Light Heavyweight ChampionLyoto Machida. The bout was originally scheduled to headline UFC 173 on May 24, 2014. However, the bout was delayed after Weidman sustained a knee injury which required a minor surgery. A light heavyweight bout between the coaches of Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva was originally scheduled for UFC 173. However, the fight was moved twice - first being on May 31, 2014 at, and now was expected to be contested on this card.Silva was ultimately pulled from the fight entirely after he failed to submit an application to fight in the state of Nevada, as well as his refusal to undergo a random drug test and was replaced by Vitor Belfort. The bout between Sonnen and Belfort was to be contested at middleweight. However, Sonnen subsequently failed his random drug test and was removed from the bout and ultimately retired from the sport. The following day it was announced by MMA writer Kevin Iole that Belfort had also been removed from the card due to the inability of the UFC finding him a new opponent. A bout between Dan Henderson and Daniel Cormier was briefly linked to this event but was moved up to UFC 173 to bolster that event's card. Santiago Ponzinibbio was expected to face Ildemar Alcântara but was forced out of the bout with a knee injury. He was replaced by Kenny Robertson. During the event, Stefan Struve suffered a "near-fainting episode" and his bout with Matt Mitrione on the pay-per-view was canceled. The first fight of the main card was already happening when the news was revealed on Twitter and it was officially confirmed on the broadcast after the Brimage-Doane fight ended.
Results
Bonus awards
The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses:
Fight of the Night: Chris Weidman vs. Lyoto Machida
Performance of the Night: Ronda Rousey and Rob Font
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.
Chris Weidman: $450,000 def. Lyoto Machida: $200,000
Ronda Rousey: $120,000 def. Alexis Davis: $24,000
Stefan Struve: $80,000 vs. Matt Mitrione: $60,000 ^
Uriah Hall: $20,000 def. Thiago Santos: $10,000
Russell Doane: $18,000 def. Marcus Brimage: $10,000
Luke Zachrich: $16,000 def. Guilherme Vasconcelos: $8,000
Kevin Casey: $16,000 def. Bubba Bush: $8,000
^ Fight didn't take place because of pre-fight "near-fainting episode" suffered by Struve; Although not reflected in the NSAC paperwork, both fighters still paid show/win bonuses
