5 things you probably forgot about UFC 200
We are now just weeks away from UFC 300, which is set to be one of the promotion's biggest-ever events.
So, with this landmark event coming soon, it's worth looking back at UFC 200, which had a similar amount of hype and build around it.
The event took place back in the summer of 2016 and was the first to go down in Las Vegas' new T-Mobile Arena. With eight years almost passed, though, plenty of things have since been forgotten.
With that in mind, here are five things you probably forgot about UFC 200.
#5. UFC 200 was the final event under the original Zuffa ownership
In many ways, it seems like a lot more than eight years have passed since the Fertitta brothers sold their stake in the UFC to the WME-IMG/Endeavor conglomerate.
However, UFC 200 was the final event to take place under the stewardship of the brothers, who, alongside Dana White, bought the promotion from the ailing SEG ownership back in 2000.
The sale made both Lorenzo Fertitta and Frank Fertitta a huge amount of money, as the promotion was reportedly sold for somewhere between $3.5bn and $4bn.
While the brothers - who once had a written agreement that a grappling match would settle any disputes between them - rode off into the sunset, White, of course, stayed on and was given a stake in the promotion by its new owners.
The Abu Dhabi-based Flash Entertainment, meanwhile, retained its own 10% minority stake in the company.
While the nature of the promotion and the fights it produces hasn't evolved all that much in the years that have followed, a number of big changes have happened.
The promotion now broadcasts on the ESPN network rather than the Fox network, and they no longer work alongside USADA for their drug testing regime. In 2023, they merged with WWE to create another conglomerate known as TKO.
#4. UFC 200's headline fight was switched three times
The search for a headline fight for UFC 300 might've given Dana White and company a bit of a headache this year, but that cannot compare to what happened eight years ago.
UFC 200 actually saw its headline bout changed on three occasions, with two of the promotion's biggest-ever stars being forced out of the event in the process.
Initially, the chosen headliner was a rematch between then-featherweight champ Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz. The two men had fought earlier in 2016, with Diaz surprising 'The Notorious' by submitting him, and with the pay-per-view popping a huge number, it made sense as a main event for the year's biggest show.
However, with a couple of months to go before the event, McGregor was unexpectedly pulled from proceedings after posting a cryptic tweet teasing his retirement.
It turned out that 'The Notorious' had refused to meet the media obligations for the fight, and thus had been withdrawn by the promotion itself.
Cooler heads prevailed, with McGregor eventually fighting Diaz later that year. With the big event needing a new headliner, though, the matchmakers went with a light-heavyweight title unification bout between heated rivals Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier.
Unfortunately, that fight also went up in smoke when Jones failed a pre-fight drug test administered by USADA and was subsequently suspended.
With just days to go before the event, there was no time to find a real replacement. Therefore, the show went ahead with Miesha Tate's bantamweight title defense against Amanda Nunes headlining over Brock Lesnar's return fight and the interim featherweight title bout between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar.
#3. Anderson Silva took his fight with Daniel Cormier on less than two days' notice
When Jon Jones was withdrawn from UFC 200 following his positive drug test, then-light-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier was left without an opponent.
Being a company man and a true professional, 'DC' quickly stated that he was more than happy to remain on the card if the promotion could find a viable opponent for him, but few could've guessed who that would be.
With less than two days to go before the event, it was announced that none other than former middleweight champion Anderson Silva would be stepping in for a three-round, non-title fight with Cormier.
The move was a true head-scratcher. 'The Spider' hadn't fought since a war with Michael Bisping five months earlier and clearly wasn't in shape to take a fight with someone as good as Cormier.
Sure enough, 'DC' largely dominated the veteran, taking him down to abuse him with ground-and-pound.
In the third and final round, though, fans were given a glimpse of what Silva was still capable of. He stunned Cormier with a body kick but ran out of time before he could capitalize.
In the end, 'DC' claimed a unanimous decision in a largely forgettable bout. Still, realistically, the promotion's brass probably owed Silva greatly for getting them out of a hole on such late notice.
#2. Jim Miller fought on the preliminary card
As any longtime fan knows, time waits for no man in the world of MMA. Seven years had passed between UFC 100 and this event in the summer of 2016, and yet by the time it came around, only two fighters appeared on both cards.
One of those fighters, Brock Lesnar, made a one-off comeback in 2016 and never intended to stick around for the long haul.
The other fighter, though, was Jim Miller. His story is more intriguing by far.
Miller defeated Mac Danzig on the preliminary card of the 2009 event, and the win was his first in a run of seven victories that propelled him into title contention.
By 2016, though, things had become a lot worse for him. Coming into UFC 200, he'd won just one of his previous five fights, and his career looked close to an end.
It turned out, though, that Miller had actually been suffering from Lyme disease. After adjusting his diet to help him battle the issue, he returned to form and stopped Takanori Gomi in the event's opener.
Remarkably, Miller is still competing today - and assuming he doesn't get hit with an injury, he looks set to compete at UFC 300 next month. This will make him the only fighter to appear in all three of the promotion's landmark events.
#1. Brock Lesnar's surprise return caused the rift between Dana White and Ariel Helwani
While his fight with Mark Hunt didn't headline the event, UFC 200's biggest drawing card, in the end, was former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.
Lesnar had returned to WWE following his loss to Alistair Overeem and the end of his run in the octagon in 2011, and a return to MMA seemed highly unlikely.
However, just over a month prior to UFC 200, it was announced that Lesnar would be making a one-off return to fight Hunt in what was a major stunner.
Unfortunately, the nature of the announcement had major repercussions for journalist Ariel Helwani.
Prior to that point, Helwani had practically been Dana White's most trusted member of the MMA media. When the StrikeForce buyout took place in 2011, White announced it via a brief interview with Helwani rather than a proper press release, for instance.
When Helwani received word of Lesnar's return, though, just hours before the promotion was set to announce it, he reported on it at MMAFighting.com.
The leak sent White into an absolute frenzy, and Helwani paid a hefty price. Not only was he slung out of the event that saw the official Lesnar announcement, but he was also banned from ever receiving press credentials from the promotion - for life.
The ban was eventually lifted when cooler heads prevailed, but the rift between White and Helwani was never healed.
White's detractors often point at the incident as an example of his petty side, while Helwani has gone onto become one of the promotion's most scathing critics, a far cry from his position prior to 2016.