UFC 196 rebranded as Fight Night card, UFC 197 renumbered as UFC 196

With next week’s UFC 196 card no longer on pay-per-view, it’s also no longer being called UFC 196, but the March 5th event headlined by Rafael dos Anjos and Conor McGregor is the new UFC 196. Are we clear on that?

In case you haven’t heard, UFC 196 was supposed to feature Fabricio Werdum vs. Cain Velasquez in the main event, but now neither of them are on the card. With no other viable options on short notice, the UFC “cancelled” the pay-per-view by instead bumping the February 6th main card down to Fox Sports 1, with a new main event of Johny Hendricks vs. Stephen Thompson.

On Tuesday, the UFC announced that the Super Bowl weekend show has been rebranded as UFC Fight Night: Hendricks vs. Thompson, as if it were a normal Fox Sports 1 card all along. The main card bout order has been upped to six fights (with the addition of Mike Pyle vs. Sean Spencer and Misha Cirkunov vs. Alex Nicholson) to fill the three-hour broadcast, and Hendricks vs. Thompson has been elevated from three rounds to five.

So what does that mean for the number 196? Well it’s simple! Since Hendricks vs. Thompson is no longer a numbered pay-per-view show, UFC 197: Dos Anjos vs. McGregor is now the new UFC 196! That’s right, the big March 5th show has been renumbered, so 196 is now Fight Night 82, while 197 is now 196.

Another aspect of the new numeration is how it changes the UFC’s pay-per-view plans leading up to UFC 200 on July 9th. If The Card Formerly Known as UFC 196 had stayed on PPV, either May or June would’ve been a PPV-less month for the UFC. But as it stands, the reshuffling likely means they will have 196 in March, 197 in April, 198 in May, and 199 in June.

Be sure to tune in next week for UFC Fight Night 82: Hendricks vs. Thompson, AKA The New Adventures of Old UFC 196. Oh, and by the way, Bloody Elbow’s Tim Burke called this on January 25th.

BREAKING: The number 196 just pulled out of UFC 196.

— Tim B (@TB_Money) January 25, 2016

With next week’s UFC 196 card no longer on pay-per-view, it’s also no longer being called UFC 196, but the March 5th event headlined by Rafael dos Anjos and Conor McGregor is the new UFC 196. Are we clear on that?

In case you haven’t heard, UFC 196 was supposed to feature Fabricio Werdum vs. Cain Velasquez in the main event, but now neither of them are on the card. With no other viable options on short notice, the UFC “cancelled” the pay-per-view by instead bumping the February 6th main card down to Fox Sports 1, with a new main event of Johny Hendricks vs. Stephen Thompson.

On Tuesday, the UFC announced that the Super Bowl weekend show has been rebranded as UFC Fight Night: Hendricks vs. Thompson, as if it were a normal Fox Sports 1 card all along. The main card bout order has been upped to six fights (with the addition of Mike Pyle vs. Sean Spencer and Misha Cirkunov vs. Alex Nicholson) to fill the three-hour broadcast, and Hendricks vs. Thompson has been elevated from three rounds to five.

So what does that mean for the number 196? Well it’s simple! Since Hendricks vs. Thompson is no longer a numbered pay-per-view show, UFC 197: Dos Anjos vs. McGregor is now the new UFC 196! That’s right, the big March 5th show has been renumbered, so 196 is now Fight Night 82, while 197 is now 196.

Another aspect of the new numeration is how it changes the UFC’s pay-per-view plans leading up to UFC 200 on July 9th. If The Card Formerly Known as UFC 196 had stayed on PPV, either May or June would’ve been a PPV-less month for the UFC. But as it stands, the reshuffling likely means they will have 196 in March, 197 in April, 198 in May, and 199 in June.

Be sure to tune in next week for UFC Fight Night 82: Hendricks vs. Thompson, AKA The New Adventures of Old UFC 196. Oh, and by the way, Bloody Elbow’s Tim Burke called this on January 25th.