This event was the first that the organization hosted in Albany. A middleweight bout between
Josh Samman and
Oluwale Bamgbose was briefly linked to the event. However the pairing never materialized as Samman died on October 5, 2016. Joe Gigliotti was tabbed as his replacement. Promotional newcomer
Charlie Ward was expected to face
Randy Brown at the event. However, Ward was pulled from the event in early November due to alleged
visa issues which restricted his travel and was replaced by fellow newcomer
Brian Camozzi.
Zubaira Tukhugov was scheduled to face
Tiago Trator at the event. However, on November 14, Tukhugov was pulled from the card after being notified by
USADA of a potential anti-doping violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collected earlier. On November 28, Tukhugov was replaced by promotional newcomer
Shane Burgos.
Aljamain Sterling was expected to face
Raphael Assunção at the event. However, Sterling pulled out of the fight on November 23 citing injury. Assunção was subsequently removed from the card with the pairing expected to be rescheduled for a future event.
The Ultimate Fighter: Team Joanna vs. Team Cláudia women's strawweight winner
Tatiana Suarez was expected to face
Juliana Lima at the event. However, Suarez pulled out of the fight on November 23 citing injury. She was replaced on December 2 by promotional newcomer
JJ Aldrich.
Patrick Cummins was expected to face
Gian Villante at the event. However, Cummins pulled out of the fight on December 2 citing a
staph infection. He was replaced by promotional newcomer
Saparbek Safarov. At the weigh-ins,
Justine Kish came in at 116.4 lb, 0.4 lb over the women's strawweight limit of 116 lb. As a result, Kish was fined 20% of her purse, which went to her opponent
Ashley Yoder and the bout proceeded as scheduled at a catchweight. ==Results==