The event was expected to be headlined by a 145 lbs UFC Featherweight Championship bout between current champion José Aldo and top contender Conor McGregor. Aldo pulled out of the bout and a interim championship bout between Chad Mendes and McGregor took place at this event. The UFC received official medical confirmation from several doctors that Aldo did not have a broken rib as he claimed and the biggest problem was the weight cutting process being complicated by the injury. This was confirmed when a release of an Xray tied to an old injury was released by Aldo's camp. The co-main event featured a 170 lbs UFC Welterweight Championship bout between current champion Robbie Lawler and top contender Rory MacDonald. 145 lbs: Dennis Bermudez vs. Jeremy Stephens | 170 lbs: Gunnar Nelson vs. Brandon Thatch | 135 lbs.: Thomas Almeida vs. Brad Pickett

UFC on Fox 25: Weidman vs Gastelum was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 22, 2017 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. The event was headlined by a middleweight bout between former UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman and The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen middleweight winner Kelvin Gastelum.[

UFC 220: Miocic vs. Ngannou is a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on January 20, 2018 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.

UFC Fight Night 77: Belfort vs. Henderson 3 was a mixed martial arts event held on November 7, 2015, at the Ginásio do Ibirapuera in São Paulo, Brazil. The event was headlined by a middleweight trilogy bout between longtime multi-divisional contenders and champions Vitor Belfort and Dan Henderson. Henderson defeated Belfort in their first encounter in 2006 at Pride 32 via unanimous decision. Belfort defeated Henderson in their second encounter in 2013 at UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson 2 via first round knockout.

UFC Fight Night 180: Ortega vs. The Korean Zombie was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 18, 2020 at the du Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. A featherweight bout between former UFC Featherweight Championship challengers Brian Ortega and Chan Sung Jung served as the event headliner.

UFC Fight Night 88: Almeida vs. Garbrandt was a mixed martial arts event held on May 29, 2016, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. A bantamweight bout between top undefeated prospects Thomas Almeida and Cody Garbrandt headlined the event.

UFC Fight Night 56: Shogun vs. Saint Preux was a mixed martial arts event held at the Ginásio Municipal Tancredo Neves in Uberlândia, Brazil, on November 8, 2014. A light heavyweight bout between Maurício Rua and Jimi Manuwa was expected to serve as event headliner. However, on October 29, it was announced that Manuwa had pulled out of the fight due to injury and Ovince Saint Preux replaced him in main event against Rua

UFC 186: Johnson vs. Horiguchi was a mixed martial arts event held on April 25, 2015, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

UFC Fight Night 100: Bader vs. Nogueira 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on November 19, 2016, at Ginásio do Ibirapuera in São Paulo, Brazil. The event was initially expected to be headlined by a light heavyweight bout between former two-time UFC Light Heavyweight Championship challenger Alexander Gustafsson and Antônio Rogério Nogueira. Gustafsson pulled out of the bout due to an injury and was replaced by The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir light heavyweight winner Ryan Bader.

UFC 260: Miocic vs. Ngannou 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 27, 2021 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. A UFC Heavyweight Championship rematch bout between current two-time champion Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou headlined this event. The pairing met previously at UFC 220 on January 20, 2018, where Miocic won via unanimous decision and broke the record for most consecutive title defenses for the division with his third.