The event was initially expected to be headlined by a light heavyweight bout between former two-time
UFC Light Heavyweight Championship challenger
Alexander Gustafsson and
Antônio Rogério Nogueira However on September 30, Gustafsson pulled out of the bout citing an injury of his own. In turn, he was replaced by
The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir light heavyweight winner
Ryan Bader. Bader defeated Nogueira in their previous encounter six years prior at
UFC 119 by unanimous decision.
Michael Graves was scheduled to face
Sérgio Moraes on the card. However, Graves was removed from the fight on October 3 after he was arrested on a misdemeanor
battery charge. He was replaced by
Zak Ottow.
Matheus Nicolau was expected to face
Ulka Sasaki at the event. However, on November 3, Nicolau was pulled from the bout after
USADA revealed a potential anti-doping violation from a sample taken October 13. In turn, Sasaki was pulled from the event entirely and was later rescheduled to face
Wilson Reis on February 12, 2017 at
UFC 208 ==Results==