Due to the success of UFC 100 expectations for UFC 200 were sky-high. Hype around the event grew years before fans and media members had any clue who’d be featured on the card.
Pressure built as the years passed and bigger stars began to form. In fact, UFC’s mainstream appeal had never been greater than it was heading into the summer of 2015. They’d began breaking PPV and gate records at a feverish pace and major networks such as ESPN and Fox were buying into the once taboo sport.
The stars began to align for UFC, or so they thought. Almost a year later UFC 200 stands as the most infamous and troublesome card in the promotion’s history. Key losses, drug test, late additions, late cancellations and match shifting left UFC fans with a feeling of “what if?” instead of admiration for what was.
Oddly enough, the UFC 200 curse began with Robbie Lawler.
Lawler was coming off one of the best title fights in UFC history, against Rory MacDonald at UFC 189, and was scheduled to defend his title against Carlos Condit in Australia at UFC 193. An injury a month and a half before the fight postponed their bout until UFC 195 and resulted in Dana White swapping those cards’ main events. The previously scheduled UFC 195 main event between Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm for UFC bantamweight title was moved up and slated as the UFC 193 headliner.
We now know that Ronda’s stand up was no match for Holly, the shortened preparation may have played a small role in that aspect of the fight, and led to one of the most shocking KO’s in UFC history.
Ronda’s jaw was dislocated and her fighting spirit fractured. The former ‘baddest woman in the world’ has yet to return to the octagon and the dream scenario of Rousey vs Tate or Cyborg at UFC 200 ended that night.
That was only the first blow to the eventually doomed card.
The next blow came a few months after Ronda’s surprising loss. The UFC had managed to build two transcendent stars over the past two years. One was Rousey and the other was Conor McGregor. The loud mouth Irishmen had taken the featherweight division by storm with his brash antics and hard left hand. When he captured the interim title at UFC 189 most fans began dreaming of a Rousey-McGregor co-headliner for UFC 200. With the Rousey aspect all but gone, it was up to Conor to carry the show.
His 13-second KO of featherweight champion Jose Aldo set the UFC record for PPV buys along with the record for largest Las Vegas gate. McGregor’s confidence was at an all-time high and he rode that into a quick turnaround fight with lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos. Conor McGregor was scheduled to fight RDA at March 5th’s UFC 196 but another bout of bad luck hit. Rafael pulled out of the fight 10 days before the event and Conor decided to fight the rebellious Nate Diaz at 170lbs, instead of the lightweight limit of 155lbs.
Conor paid for his hubris, Nate Diaz took advantage of his poor cardio and tapped McGregor in the 2nd round. Nate was boosted to stardom while McGregor left UFC 196 without a second title and a loss. RDA has since lost his title by KO to Eddie Alvarez, so a fight against the heavy-handed McGregor would’ve been no cake walk.
Instead of looking at a two-division champion (McGregor) going into UFC 200 in search of an unprecedented 3rd title vs welterweight champion Robbie Lawler, the UFC was left to promote McGregor’s vengeance fight against the 19-10 Diaz.
The bout was first shunned by fans but eventually grew into an anticipated rematch. As anticipation grew, news of McGregor skipping the pre-UFC 197 media tour began to surface. Conor says he was focused on training and deserved some leeway but Dana White felt Conor was pulling a power move against the organization. Dana White flexed his muscle.
On April 20th, Dana announced Conor McGregor would be removed from UFC 200 due to the missed media obligations and just like that the biggest male athlete in the UFC was pulled from the card. Dana White wasted no time in finding a new UFC 200 main event.
Almost a year before McGregor was removed from UFC 200, Jon Jones was suspended for hitting a pregnant woman and fleeing the seen of the crime. Jones’ indefinite suspension was lifted in early 2016 and he vowed that he was a changed man. Dana White decided that he wouldn’t be further punished for his mistakes and threw him into an immediate title fight against UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier.
Jones had easily defeated Cormier in their first bout and was looking forward to reclaiming the title he never truly lost. Their rematch was scheduled for UFC 197 but Cormier wouldn’t make it.
Cormier pulled out of the fight with an injury and this time it was Jones’ turn to take on a late notice replacement. Ovince St-Preux was given the fight and the UFC decided that the victor would be crowned the interim champion, which remains a joke given Cormier had defended the belt just 7-months prior and had never once pulled out of a fight.
Jon Jones’ return, and easy victory, at UFC 197 set the stage for him to save UFC 200 with a much-anticipated rematch against Daniel Cormier.
Dana White and Jones entered negotiations the night of UFC 197 and the light heavyweight unification bout was booked for UFC 200 shortly after. The rest of the card built around the Jones-Cormier fight and fans bought in. The return of a healthy Cain Velasquez, the interim featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo & Frankie Edgar (Once again a joke given Conor won the title just 7 months before), and Miesha Tate’s first defense of her women’s bantamweight title against Amanda Nunes.
There was still something missing…
That void was filled when an unexpected Brock Lesnar promo debuted at UFC 199, which came with its own bit of controversy thanks to the temporary banishment of MMA journalist Ariel Helwani. The addition of Lesnar was the cherry on top for Dana White & the UFC. The UFC went as far as to ask for Brock to receive a testing exemption from USADA, which would allow him to bypass the mandatory four months of pre-competition testing and compete at UFC 200. The expemtion was granted and the fight vs The ‘Super Samoan’ Mark Hunt was scheduled.
After all the missteps they were able to show McGregor that no one person is bigger than the organization and that the “biggest, baddest card in UFC history” was ready to commence.
Dana White and the UFC basked in their greatness as UFC 200 drew near. They managed to avoid major injuries to their PPV card and the hype around Lesnar’s return gave hope that the event would surpass UFC 100.
That was until Jon Jones was flagged on July 6th, just three days before UFC 200, for failing an out of contest USADA test.
“They found something in one of my samples that I have no clue what it is,” Jones said. “I don’t even know how to pronounce it. I’ve been taking the same supplements the majority of my career. I’ve been so outspoken about being against any type of performance enhancers. To this day, I’m extremely against performance enhancers.
“The whole thing sucks. Being labeled as someone who would cheat hurts more than anything else I’ve ever been through in my career.”
Light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier was crushed and once again Dana White and his staff were left to pick up the pieces. The UFC exhausted all measures and within a day made the announcement of Cormier vs Anderson Silva.
Silva’s name and legacy were big enough to drum up interest from casual MMA fans but it was far from the original Jones-Cormier rivalry. The fate of UFC 200 now leaned heavier on Brock Lesnar.
Luckily, the uncertainty of Lesnar’s return kept UFC 200 afloat in its final days. Lesnar looked lean and ripped when he stepped on the scales at the weigh-ins. He towered over the compact Hunt and showed no sign of intimidation.
When both men stepped into the octagon the beast in Lesnar came out. Hunt was unable to build any offensive rhythm and spent much of the fight on his back getting pounded by the larger Lesnar. When it was all said and done Lesnar’s hand was raised and his comeback complete.
Lesnar was celebrated. He took photos with Shaq and other celebs after his victory and was given his own post-fight press conference. Many fans an media members placed Brock on a pedestal. The clamour for another fight built immediately and mentions of a Lesnar title fight were whispered.
The pressure for UFC 200 to deliver an all-time great event was over and the future looked bright. Just days after its culmination reports of a $4 billion UFC sale were confirmed. The WME-IMG era began and UFC 200 stood as the last great event of the Ferittita-White Era.
That was until UFC reported the news of a Brock Lesnar failed USADA test.
“The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Brock Lesnar of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collection on June 28, 2016. USADA received the testing results from the June 28, 2016 sample collection from the WADA-accredited UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory on the evening of July 14, 2016.”
Brock’s failed test is a fitting end to a trouble plagued UFC 200 fight card. A card that seemed doomed from the onset and was pulled off in the end by the narrowest of margins.
Here’s to UFC 300 topping the narratives that UFC 200 has provided!