The event was originally scheduled to take place on January 21 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.[3] However, due to a lack of suitable headliners for the date, the event in Anaheim was postponed to August 5 (and subsequently took place at Staples Center in Los Angeles) and an originally scheduled UFC 209 to be held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on February 11 was renamed as UFC 208.[4][2] This was the first UFC event held in Brooklyn and the fourth overall hosted in the state of New York.[4]
A UFC Featherweight Championship unification bout between two-time champion José Aldo and interim champion Max Holloway was in the works for this card.[7] The bout eventually did not materialize as Holloway had some consideration (nagging injuries and the desire to spend Christmas with his family) about fighting only two months after UFC 206.[8]
A flyweight bout between Ian McCall and Neil Seery was originally scheduled for UFC Fight Night: Mousasi vs. Hall 2. However, the pairing was cancelled on the day of the weigh-ins, as McCall had to pull out of the fight after becoming ill due to the effects of his weight cut.[12] The fight was later rescheduled for this event.[6] In turn, Seery pulled out on January 29 due to the passing of his mother-in-law.[13] He was replaced by promotional newcomer Jarred Brooks.[14] On the day of the event, McCall was hospitalized with gastrointestinal issues and the bout was cancelled.[15]
Gilbert Burns was expected to face Paul Felder at the event. However, Burns pulled out of the fight in mid-January citing injury.[16] In turn, Felder was removed from the card and rescheduled against a new opponent at a separate event a week later.[17]
George Sullivan was scheduled to face Randy Brown at the event. However, on January 26, Sullivan 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 this year.[19]Belal Muhammad was chosen as his replacement.[20]
Luis Henrique was expected to face Marcin Tybura, but was pulled from the bout on February 1 due to NYSAC concerns related to a corrective eye surgery he underwent almost a year before.[21][22] He was replaced by promotional newcomer Justin Willis.[23] In turn, the bout was cancelled entirely as Willis was deemed "medically unfit" to compete.[24]
The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses:[26]
Fight of the Night: Dustin Poirier vs. Jim Miller
Performance of the Night:Ronaldo Souza
Aftermath
On February 15, it was announced that Holm filed a complaint against referee Todd Anderson and an appeal of the result, asking the NYSAC to review Anderson's "failure to deduct one or more points from Germaine de Randamie following her repeated strikes thrown after the horn sounded to end rounds 2 and 3."[27] Thirteen days later, the NYSAC denied Holm's appeal.[28]
On June 20, Sullivan was officially suspended for his second anti-doping offense by USADA, receiving a one-year term for his failed test. He had disclosed he was taking prescription fertility medication and provided medical records to document his treatment, which wound up helping him when punishment was considered. His positive test was caused by clomiphene citrate, which "he was using in a therapeutic dose under the care of a physician to treat a medical condition," USADA said in a statement. They determined that Sullivan's degree of fault was reduced because "his use of clomiphene citrate was under the care of his physician for a documented medical condition. Accordingly, Sullivan received a reduction to one year from the standard two-year period of ineligibility that could have been imposed for a second offense involving a specified substance." His period of ineligibility began January 14, the date of his positive test.[29]
