This will be the third that the organization has hosted in Atlanta, following UFC 88 in September of 2008 and UFC 145 in April of 2012.
The event will be headlined by a UFC Welterweight Championship bout between current champion Robbie Lawler and top contender Tyron Woodley.
A UFC Flyweight Championship bout between current champion Demetrious Johnson and challenger Wilson Reis was expected to serve as the co-main event. However on July 8, it was announced that Johnson pulled out due to an undisclosed injury and the bout was postponed.
The event will be the first that the organization has hosted at the new T-Mobile Arena which should open in April 2016.
A welterweight rematch between The Ultimate Fighter 5 winner and former lightweight title challenger Nate Diaz and current UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor is to headline the event. The pairing previously met earlier in the year at UFC 196. McGregor was expected to challenge UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael dos Anjos, but dos Anjos pulled out due to a broken foot only 11 days before the event. Diaz eventually replaced him and the bout was shifted to the welterweight division. Diaz won the fight via rear-naked choke in the second round. Everything changed on April 19: in a sudden turn of events, after McGregor tweeting a supposed retirement, the UFC announced that he was pulled from the event and a replacement for him is being sought. UFC President Dana White clarified that McGregor's removal was related to his refusal to come to a press conference that week, because "he was in Iceland training and didn't want to ruin his preparation for the fight". McGregor released a statement two days later, claiming he is not retired and that he requested the UFC to allow him to focus more on the fight preparation this time, as he feels he lost his focus during the media obligations for the last fight.
On April 27, the UFC officially announced the new headliner as a UFC Light Heavyweight Championship unification rematch between current champion Daniel Cormier and former champion Jon Jones, who is also the current interim champion. The pairing met previously at UFC 182 in January 2015 with Jones defending his title via unanimous decision. Subsequent to that victory, Jones was stripped of the title and suspended indefinitely from the UFC in connection with a hit-and-run incident that he was involved in. Cormier replaced him and went on to defeat Anthony Johnson at UFC 187 to win the vacant title. Their rematch was originally expected to take place at UFC 197, but Cormier pulled out three weeks before the event due to injury and was replaced by Ovince Saint Preux, in what became an interim title bout. Jones went on to defeat Saint Preux by unanimous decision and won the interim title.
The event suffered another major hit only three days before it happened, as it was announced that Jones was pulled out by USADA due to a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collection on June 16. Cormier declared he would still fight if an opponent brought to him "made sense". Additional information on Jones' situation will be provided as as the process moves forward. A day later Jones apologised for the incident, but denied knowingly taking any illegal substance. He and his manager also declined to specify the substance that resulted in the failed test.His "B" sample also came positive for the same substances and Jones' faces a potential two-year suspension.
Due to Jones' removal from the card, the Lesnar-Hunt bout was originally promoted as the new main event. However, during the UFC Fight Night: dos Anjos vs. Alvarez broadcast, it was announced that former UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva would replace Jones on less than two days notice and face Cormier in a three-round non-title light heavyweight bout.[18] Also the already scheduled UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship bout between current champion Miesha Tate and top contender Amanda Nunes was revealed as the new main event and Lesnar-Hunt will remain as the co-main event.
On June 4, during the UFC 199 main card broadcast, it was announced that former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar will return to the UFC for his first fight since December 2011. He will face the 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix winner and former interim title contender Mark Hunt.
Due to McGregor's experiments outside of his division, an interim UFC Featherweight Championship bout between former champion José Aldo and former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar is will take place at this event. This will also be a rematch as Aldo defended his title against Edgar at UFC 156 in 2013 via unanimous decision.
A UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship bout between current champion Miesha Tate and top contender Amanda Nunes is also scheduled for this event.
The card will also feature a heavyweight bout between former two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez and Travis Browne, a middleweight bout between former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi and Derek Brunson, a welterweight bout between former UFC Welterweight Champion Johny Hendricks and The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen winner Kelvin Gastelum. (Source: Wikipedia)
Tl;dr: UFC 200 main event was originally McGregor v Diaz 2 then it was Jones v Cormier 2 and now its Tate v Nunes. Jones tested positive for drugs hence why he was pulled and McGregor was pulled due to not showing up at a press confrence.
The event is live on Pay-per view and on BT Sport 2, the Main Card starts at 3AM UK time [/align]
McGregor and Diaz for me, I just love McGregor's confidence, that's the main reason I started to watch him, he's hilarious, and I'm hoping he can bounce back and win this time. Should be a good one, and this is a day after my birthday. Can't wait.
(Apr 8, 2016 11:46 AM)iFaBuLuS Wrote: McGregor and Diaz for me, I just love McGregor's confidence, that's the main reason I started to watch him, he's hilarious, and I'm hoping he can bounce back and win this time. Should be a good one, and this is a day after my birthday. Can't wait.
I was hoping Rousey would be back in time to beat Tate but shes not back till November or so😟
I think aldo will win, he's still an amazing fighter just wasn't in the right mindset against McGregor, McGregor does well breaking down opponents mentally