A
UFC Lightweight Championship bout for the vacant title between former champion
Charles Oliveira and
Islam Makhachev headlined the event. Oliveira was stripped of the title at
UFC 274 when he failed to make weight for his attempted title defense against former interim champion (also former
WSOF Lightweight Champion)
Justin Gaethje.
Beneil Dariush, who is scheduled to face former
KSW Featherweight and
Lightweight Champion Mateusz Gamrot, revealed in mid-September that he was expected to serve as backup to this contest. In turn, current
UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski announced in mid-October that he was the official replacement in case either of the headliners pull out. Dariush still claimed that he had the backup spot, but no official announcement had been made by the promotion. Volkanovski eventually weighed in successfully as the official substitute. A
UFC Bantamweight Championship bout between current champion
Aljamain Sterling and former two-time champion
T.J. Dillashaw was originally targeted as the main event of
UFC 279, but the promotion opted to change plans and move it to this event. Former
UFC Women's Flyweight Championship challenger
Katlyn Chookagian and
Manon Fiorot met in a women's flyweight bout at this event. They were originally scheduled to meet at
UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Tuivasa a month earlier, with Chookagian pulling out once due to undisclosed reasons, only to return as a replacement for her own substitute. At the weigh-ins, Chookagian weighed in at 127.5 pounds, one and a half pounds over the flyweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and she was fined 20% of her purse, which went to Fiorot. However, the bout was postponed to
UFC Fight Night 214 for unknown reasons. A heavyweight bout between
Parker Porter and
Hamdy Abdelwahab was scheduled for the event. However, Abdelwahab was removed for unknown reasons and replaced by promotional newcomer Slim Trabelsi. In turn, the pairing was cancelled altogether as Trabelsi pulled out due to contractual issues with ARES FC and Porter opted to pursue a later fight, rather than a replacement barring unforeseen circumstances.
Jamie Mullarkey was expected to face
Magomed Mustafaev in a lightweight bout. However, Mullarkey pulled out in mid-September due to injury. In turn, Nishikawa was forced to withdraw due to contractual issues and the bout was scrapped. A heavyweight bout between
Shamil Abdurakhimov and
Jailton Almeida was expected to take place at this event. They were originally scheduled to meet at
UFC 279, but Abdurakhimov withdrew due to visa issues. In turn, Almeida was booked against
Maxim Grishin at
UFC Fight Night 214 in a catchweight of 220 pounds, after Abdurakhimov withdrew again for unknown reasons. A featherweight bout between
Zubaira Tukhugov and Lucas Almeida was expected to take place at this event. However, the bout was scrapped the day before the event due to weight management issues related to Tukhugov. ==Results==