# 2016 in UFC

The year 2016 was the 24th year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States.

## 2016 UFC.com awards

2016 UFC.COM Awards :
| No | Best Fighter | The Upsets | The Submissions | The Newcomers | The Knockouts | The Fights |
| 1 | Michael Bisping | Michael Bisping defeats Luke Rockhold 2 UFC 199 | Ben Rothwell defeats Josh Barnett UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Bader | Mickey Gall | Lando Vannata defeats John Makdessi UFC 206 | Cub Swanson defeats Choi Doo-ho UFC 206 |
| 2 | Conor McGregor | Eric Spicely defeats Thiago Santos UFC Fight Night: Cyborg vs. Länsberg | Miesha Tate defeats Holly Holm UFC 196 | Cris Cyborg | Anthony Johnson defeats Glover Teixeira UFC 202 | Conor McGregor defeats Nate Diaz 2 UFC 202 |
| 3 | Dominick Cruz | Miesha Tate defeats Holly Holm UFC 196 | Brian Ortega defeats Diego Brandão UFC 195 | Lando Vannata | Diego Rivas defeats Noad Lahat UFC Fight Night: Hendricks vs. Thompson | Robbie Lawler defeats Carlos Condit UFC 195 |
| 4 | Randy Brown | Brandon Moreno defeats Louis Smolka UFC Fight Night: Lineker vs. Dodson | Chas Skelly defeats Maximo Blanco UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Johnson | Marlon Moraes | Yair Rodríguez defeats Andre Fili UFC 197 | Steve Bossé defeats Sean O'Connell UFC Fight Night: MacDonald vs. Thompson |
| 5 | Joanna Jędrzejczyk | Nate Diaz defeats Conor McGregor 1 UFC 196 | Teemu Packalén defeats Thibault Gouti UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Bisping | Brandon Moreno | Stipe Miocic defeats Fabrício Werdum UFC 198 | Tyron Woodley defeats Stephen Thompson 1 UFC 205 |
| 6 | Tyron Woodley | Bryan Barberena defeats Warlley Alves UFC 198 | Keita Nakamura defeats Kyle Noke UFC Fight Night: McDonald vs. Lineker | Marc Diakiese | Donald Cerrone defeats Matt Brown UFC 206 | Joanna Jędrzejczyk defeats Cláudia Gadelha 2 The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale |
| 7 | Stephen Thompson | Bryan Barberena defeats Sage Northcutt UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Bader | Demian Maia defeats Matt Brown UFC 198 | Justin Ledet | Michael Bisping defeats Luke Rockhold UFC 199 | Polo Reyes defeats Dong Hyun Ma UFC 199 |
| 8 | Gegard Mousasi | Bryan Caraway defeats Aljamain Sterling UFC Fight Night: Almeida vs. Garbrandt | Michael McDonald defeats Masanori Kanehara UFC 195 | Josh Emmett | Tyron Woodley defeats Robbie Lawler UFC 201 | Donald Cerrone defeats Matt Brown] UFC 206 |
| 9 | Donald Cerrone | Andrew Holbrook defeats Jake Matthews UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson | Eric Spicely defeats Thiago Santos UFC Fight Night: Cyborg vs. Länsberg | Andrew Sanchez | Dan Henderson defeats Héctor Lombard UFC 199 | Tony Ferguson defeats Rafael dos Anjos The Ultimate Fighter: Heavy Hitters Finale |
| 10 | Derrick Lewis | Valentina Shevchenko defeats Holly Holm UFC on Fox: Holm vs. Shevchenko | Francis Ngannou defeats Anthony Hamilton UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Abdurakhimov | Mike Perry | Yoel Romero defeats Chris Weidman UFC 205 | Robert Whittaker defeats Derek Brunson UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson |
| Ref | | | | | | |

## Debut UFC fighters

The following fighters fought their first UFC fight in 2016:
* Abdul Razak Alhassan
* Adam Milstead
* Albert Morales
* Alberto Uda
* Alessandro Ricci
* Alessio Di Chirico
* Alex Morono
* Alex Nicholson
* Alexander Volkanovski
* Alexa Grasso
* Amanda Cooper
* Andrew Sanchez
* Anna Elmose
* Ashley Yoder
* Augusto Mendes
* Belal Muhammad
* Bojan Veličković
* Brandon Moreno
* Brett Johns
* Brian Camozzi
* Cristiane Justino
* CM Punk
* Charlie Ward
* Chase Sherman
* Chris Avila
* Christian Colombo
* Claudio Puelles
* Cody East
* Cory Hendricks
* Cristina Stanciu
* Curtis Blaydes
* Cyril Asker
* Damian Grabowski
* Damir Hadžović
* Danielle Taylor
* Darrell Horcher
* Darren Stewart
* David Teymur
* Damien Brown
* Devin Clark
* Dmitry Smolyakov
* Elvis Mutapčić
* Emil Weber Meek
* Eric Spicely
* Filip Pejić
* Felipe Olivieri
* Felipe Silva
* Gadzhimurad Antigulov
* Gerald Meerschaert
* Gregor Gillespie
* Hector Sandoval
* Henrique da Silva
* Ion Cuțelaba
* Irene Aldana
* J.C. Cottrell
* Jack Hermansson
* Jarjis Danho
* Jason Gonzalez
* Jason Novelli
* Jenel Lausa
* Jeremy Kennedy
* Jessin Ayari
* Jim Wallhead
* Joe Gigliotti
* Joey Gomez
* Joachim Christensen
* Jonathan Meunier
* Jordan Rinaldi
* Josh Emmett
* Josh Stansbury
* Justin Ledet
* Katlyn Chookagian
* Kelly Faszholz
* Ketlen Vieira
* Khalil Rountree Jr.
* Kyle Bochniak
* Lando Vannata
* Leonardo Guimarães
* Lina Länsberg
* Luan Chagas
* Luke Sanders
* Marc Diakiese
* Mark Godbeer
* Marcin Tybura
* Martin Bravo
* Martin Svensson
* Marvin Vettori
* Matt Schnell
* Matthew Lopez
* Max Griffin
* Mehdi Baghdad
* Mickey Gall
* Michael McBride
* Mike Jackson
* Mike Perry
* Niko Price
* Paul Craig
* Randy Brown
* Ricky Glenn
* Ryan Janes
* Sabah Homasi
* Saparbek Safarov
* Shane Burgos
* Tatiana Suarez
* Thibault Gouti
* Tyson Pedro
* Veronica Macedo
* Viviane Pereira
* Will Brooks
* Zak Ottow

## The Ultimate Fighter

| Season | Finale | Division | Winner | Runner-up |
| TUF 23: Team Joanna vs. Team Cláudia | July 8, 2016 | Light Heavyweight | Andrew Sanchez | Khalil Rountree Jr. |
| TUF 23: Team Joanna vs. Team Cláudia | July 8, 2016 | Women's Strawweight | Tatiana Suarez | Amanda Cooper |
| TUF: Latin America 3 | November 5, 2016 | Lightweight | Martín Bravo | Claudio Puelles |
| TUF 24: Tournament of Champions | December 3, 2016 | Flyweight | Tim Elliott | Hiromasa Ogikubo |

## Title fights

* ↑ For the UFC Welterweight Championship.
* ↑ For the UFC Bantamweight Championship.
* ↑ For the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship.
* ↑ For the UFC Flyweight Championship.
* ↑ For the interim UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.
* ↑ For the UFC Heavyweight Championship.
* ↑ For the UFC Bantamweight Championship.
* ↑ For the UFC Middleweight Championship.
* ↑ For the UFC Lightweight Championship.
* ↑ For the UFC Women's Strawweight Championship.
* ↑ For the interim UFC Featherweight Championship.
* ↑ For the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship.
* ↑ For the UFC Welterweight Championship.
* ↑ For the UFC Heavyweight Championship.
* ↑ For the UFC Middleweight Championship.
* ↑ For the UFC Women's Strawweight Championship.
* ↑ For the UFC Welterweight Championship.
* ↑ For the UFC Lightweight Championship.
* ↑ For the UFC Flyweight Championship.
* ↑ For the interim UFC Featherweight Championship (only Holloway was eligible).
* ↑ For the UFC Bantamweight Championship.
* ↑ For the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship.

## Events list

| # | Event | Date | Venue | Location | Attendance |
| 385 | UFC 207: Nunes vs. Rousey | December 30, 2016 | T-Mobile Arena | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | 18,533 |
| 384 | UFC on Fox: VanZant vs. Waterson | December 17, 2016 | Golden 1 Center | Sacramento, California, U.S. | 13,136 |
| 383 | UFC 206: Holloway vs. Pettis | December 10, 2016 | Air Canada Centre | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | 18,057 |
| 382 | UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Abdurakhimov | December 9, 2016 | Times Union Center | Albany, New York, U.S | 6,216 |
| 381 | The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions Finale | December 3, 2016 | Palms Casino Resort | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | 2,044 |
| 380 | UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Brunson | November 27, 2016 | Rod Laver Arena | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | 13,721 |
| 379 | UFC Fight Night: Bader vs. Nogueira 2 | November 19, 2016 | Ginásio do Ibirapuera | São Paulo, Brazil | 9,028 |
| 378 | UFC Fight Night: Mousasi vs. Hall 2 | November 19, 2016 | SSE Arena | Belfast, Northern Ireland, U.K. | 7,222 |
| 377 | UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor | November 12, 2016 | Madison Square Garden | New York, New York, U.S. | 20,427 |
| 376 | The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 Finale: dos Anjos vs. Ferguson | November 5, 2016 | Arena Ciudad de México | Mexico City, Mexico | 11,460 |
| – | UFC Fight Night: Lamas vs. Penn | October 15, 2016 | Mall of Asia Arena | Pasay, Philippines | Cancelled |
| 375 | UFC 204: Bisping vs. Henderson 2 | October 8, 2016 | Manchester Arena | Manchester, England, U.K. | 16,000 |
| 374 | UFC Fight Night: Lineker vs. Dodson | October 1, 2016 | Moda Center | Portland, Oregon, U.S. | 6,240 |
| 373 | UFC Fight Night: Cyborg vs. Lansberg | September 24, 2016 | Ginásio Nilson Nelson | Brasília, Brazil | 8,410 |
| 372 | UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Johnson | September 17, 2016 | State Farm Arena | Hidalgo, Texas, U.S. | 5,624 |
| 371 | UFC 203: Miocic vs. Overeem | September 10, 2016 | Quicken Loans Arena | Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | 18,875 |
| 370 | UFC Fight Night: Arlovski vs. Barnett | September 3, 2016 | Barclaycard Arena | Hamburg, Germany | 11,763 |
| 369 | UFC on Fox: Maia vs. Condit | August 27, 2016 | Rogers Arena | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | 10,533 |
| 368 | UFC 202: Diaz vs. McGregor 2 | August 20, 2016 | T-Mobile Arena | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | 15,539 |
| 367 | UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Caceres | August 6, 2016 | Vivint Smart Home Arena | Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. | 6,689 |
| 366 | UFC 201: Lawler vs. Woodley | July 30, 2016 | Philips Arena | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. | 10,240 |
| 365 | UFC on Fox: Holm vs. Shevchenko | July 23, 2016 | United Center | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | 10,287 |
| 364 | UFC Fight Night: McDonald vs. Lineker | July 13, 2016 | Denny Sanford Premier Center | Sioux Falls, South Dakota, U.S. | 5,671 |
| 363 | UFC 200: Tate vs. Nunes | Jul 9, 2016 | T-Mobile Arena | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | 18,202 |
| 362 | The Ultimate Fighter: Team Joanna vs. Team Cláudia Finale | Jul 8, 2016 | MGM Grand Garden Arena | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | 8,115 |
| 361 | UFC Fight Night: dos Anjos vs. Alvarez | Jul 7, 2016 | MGM Grand Garden Arena | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | 7,760 |
| 360 | UFC Fight Night: MacDonald vs. Thompson | June 18, 2016 | TD Place Arena | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | 10,490 |
| 359 | UFC 199: Rockhold vs Bisping 2 | June 4, 2016 | The Forum | Inglewood, California, U.S | 15,587 |
| 358 | UFC Fight Night: Almeida vs. Garbrandt | May 29, 2016 | Mandalay Bay Events Center | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | 5,193 |
| 357 | UFC 198: Werdum vs. Miocic | May 14, 2016 | Arena da Baixada | Curitiba, Brazil | 45,207 |
| 356 | UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Arlovski | May 8, 2016 | Rotterdam Ahoy | Rotterdam, Netherlands | 10,421 |
| 355 | UFC 197: Jones vs. Saint Preux | April 23, 2016 | MGM Grand Garden Arena | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S | 11,352 |
| 354 | UFC on Fox: Teixeira vs. Evans | April 16, 2016 | Amalie Arena | Tampa, Florida, U.S. | 11,273 |
| 353 | UFC Fight Night: Rothwell vs. dos Santos | April 10, 2016 | Arena Zagreb | Zagreb, Croatia | 13,177 |
| 352 | UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Mir | March 20, 2016 | Brisbane Entertainment Centre | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | 9,552 |
| 351 | UFC 196: McGregor vs. Diaz | March 5, 2016 | MGM Grand Garden Arena | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | 14,898 |
| 350 | UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Bisping | Feb 27, 2016 | The O$_2$ Arena | London, England, U.K. | 16,734 |
| 349 | UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Cowboy | Feb 21, 2016 | Consol Energy Center | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. | 7,330 |
| 348 | UFC Fight Night: Hendricks vs. Thompson | Feb 6, 2016 | MGM Grand Garden Arena | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | 7,422 |
| 347 | UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Bader | Jan 30, 2016 | Prudential Center | Newark, New Jersey, U.S. | 10,555 |
| 346 | UFC Fight Night: Dillashaw vs. Cruz | Jan 17, 2016 | TD Garden | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | 12,022 |
| 345 | UFC 195: Lawler vs. Condit | Jan 2, 2016 | MGM Grand Garden Arena | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | 10,300 |