Jacob Volkmann was scheduled to fight Paul Kelly as one of the preliminary fights, but Kelly reportedly had to pull out of the July 3 fight due to visa issues.[9] The bout was rescheduled for UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko the next month.
Also, UFC newcomer Ricardo Romero was scheduled to fight Steve Cantwell after Cantwell's recent medical ban ended. However, the fight was cancelled for unknown reasons[10] and Cantwell was replaced by UFC returnee Seth Petruzelli.[11]
On June 17, 2010, Julio Paulino was injured and withdrew from his fight against Daniel Roberts. Forrest Petz returned to the UFC and replaced Paulino.[12]
On June 22, 2010, Wanderlei Silva had to withdraw from his co-main event fight against Yoshihiro Akiyama due to three broken ribs and an injured right knee. Akiyama was then matched against Chris Leben.[13]
The bout between Kendall Grove and Goran Reljic was originally slated for the live prelims show on Spike TV. However, it was later demoted and replaced by Seth Petruzelli vs. Ricardo Romero because of Grove's criticism of the Spike TV network and The Ultimate Fighter television show.[14]
UFC President Dana White confirmed that the winner of the heavyweight title fight will defend the title against the undefeated Cain Velasquez.[15]
UFC 116 won Best Major Show in the 2010 Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards.
Fight of the Night: Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Stephan Bonnar and Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Chris Leben
Knockout of the Night: Gerald Harris
Submission of the Night: Brock Lesnar
Reported payout
The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. It does not include sponsor money or "locker room" bonuses often given by the UFC and also do not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses.[17]
Brock Lesnar $400,000 (no win bonus) def. Shane Carwin ($40,000)
Chris Leben $86,000 ($43,000 win bonus) def. Yoshihiro Akiyama ($45,000)
Chris Lytle $52,000 ($26,000 win bonus) def. Matt Brown ($10,000)
Stephan Bonnar $50,000 ($25,000 win bonus) def. Krzysztof Soszynski ($10,000)
George Sotiropoulos $24,000 ($12,000 win bonus) def. Kurt Pellegrino ($25,000)
Brendan Schaub $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus) def. Chris Tuchscherer ($12,000)