UFC 194

UFC 194: Aldo vs. McGregor was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 12, 2015, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Background

The event was originally scheduled to take place on December 5. However, the MGM Grand Garden Arena had already been booked for an Andrea Bocelli concert, prompting the UFC to look at alternative venues such as the Mandalay Bay Events Center. The AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas was the most relevant venue under consideration, which would likely have made the event the highest attended in the promotion's history. Subsequently, on August 10, UFC president Dana White confirmed the event would take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, albeit one week later on December 12.

This event marked the first time the UFC has ever scheduled three events in consecutive days, with all of them taking place in Las Vegas. Instead of the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the other two events were held at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan.

The event was headlined by a UFC Featherweight Championship unification bout between then champion José Aldo and then interim champion Conor McGregor. The bout was originally expected to take place at UFC 189. However, Aldo pulled out of the bout due to a rib injury and the event was instead headlined by an interim title bout between McGregor and Chad Mendes.

The co-main event featured a UFC Middleweight Championship bout between then undefeated champion Chris Weidman and former Strikeforce Middleweight champion Luke Rockhold.