The UFC set out on its most ambitious week of events yet to commemorate its 200th pay-per-view event.
Many unexpected twists and turns happened, making it the most bizarre sports week in the history of MMA.
Last Thursday, UFC Fight Night: Dos Anjos vs. Alvarez saw the crowning of the first champion of both Bellator and the UFC when Eddie Alvarez scored a TKO over Raphael Dos Anjos in the first round.
Alvarez left Bellator MMA back in 2013 after wresting the belt from Michael Chandler in a hard fought split decision at Bellator 106. Alvarez vacated his belt and began the climb to the title contention losing his first outing to Donald Cerrone at UFC 178 then beating Gilbert Melendez and Anthony Pettis to secure the championship bout.
Friday, at the Ultimate Fighter Finale, Joanna Jedrzejczyk retained her strawweight title over Claudia Gadelha, enduring two early take-downs in the first two rounds.
The Polish champion eventually found her patented striking prowess and showed why she is the undefeated champion. Jedrzejczyk rallied Gadelha with punches in stand-up action for the final three rounds, retaining her belt.
Finally on Saturday, UFC 200 rolled onto pay-per-view with a newly minted main event of Miesha Tate vs. Amanda Nunes for the UFC womens bantamweight championship.
Nunes won with a first round rear naked choke, taking the belt from Tate in dramatic fashion. The fighter was awarded the Performance of the Night honors and the Brazilian became the first openly gay UFC champion.
The event was moved from co-main event after Jon Jones was stripped from the card due to an out-of-competition drug test revealed possible PED usage. The fight was to unify the UFC light heavyweight belts of which Jones holds the interim title.
Current UFC light heavyweight champion, Daniel Cormier fought replacement fighter, Anderson Silva in a non-title super match winning a lackluster unanimous decision.
Although there were boo’s from the crowd, Silva, who has always been dominant at Middleweight, is to be credited though as he stepped up a weight class on virtually 24 hours notice to face Cormier, saving a huge piece of the card.
WWE superstar turned mixed martial artist, Brock Lesnar also scored big on his return to the Octagon after five years, dismantling Mark Hunt via unanimous decision in a heavyweight bout.
Also, the longest-reigning titleholder in featherweight history, Jose Aldo rebounded from a shocking 13-second knockout loss to McGregor in December by defeating Frankie Edgar in an interim championship fight at UFC 200 on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.
After the results were read, Aldo, who fights out of the Nova Uniao Academy in Rio de Janeiro, pointed toward McGregor, who was sitting in the front row.
“I have one goal, to beat this guy,” Aldo said. “Next time, I will beat him.”
With two champions dethroned, the first openly gay MMA champion crowned and a potential two-year suspension of Jon Jones fighting career looming, UFC 200 definitely lived up to its hype of being the biggest event they ever held.
