UFC 196 officially changed to UFC Fight Night event
UFC 196 already had a new main event. Now it has a new name.
Fabricio Werdum was originally set to headline the show opposite Cain Velasquez in a fight for the heavyweight title. When injury issues led to both fighters withdrawing, welterweights Johny Hendricks and Stephen Thompson were promoted to the top spot on the card.
The card was moved from pay-per-view to free television on Fox Sports 1, and is now officially a UFC Fight Night event as opposed to a numbered UFC event. That means that UFC 197 in March - headlined by a pair of title fights featuring Rafael dos Anjos vs. Conor McGregor and Holly Holm vs. Miesha Tate - is now UFC 196.
#UFCVegas now features @JohnyHendricks vs @WonderboyMMA in the main event. 👀 LIVE and FREE on @FS1 Feb. 6 at 7pmPT! pic.twitter.com/M2KKp6GJmF
— #UFCNewJersey (@ufc) January 28, 2016
What this means for the landmark UFC 200 in July is unclear. The company will have to run an event in May or June now if they plan to keep that date in place.
No UFC 200 is still in July. https://t.co/nSgLC4k2Rg
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 28, 2016