UFC Fight Night 81 - Dillashaw vs. Cruz --- UFC Fight Night 82 - Hendricks vs. Thompson
UFC on Fox 18: Johnson vs. Bader is an upcoming mixed martial arts event that will be held on January 30, 2016 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Official fight card
Main Card (Fox)
Light Heavyweight Anthony Johnson vs. Ryan Bader
Heavyweight Josh Barnett vs. Ben Rothwell
Bantamweight Iuri Alcântara vs. Jimmie Rivera
Lightweight Sage Northcutt vs. Bryan Barberena
Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1)
Welterweight Tarec Saffiedine vs. Jake Ellenberger
Lightweight Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Carlos Diego Ferreira
Middleweight Kevin Casey vs. Rafael Natal
Flyweight Dustin Ortiz vs. Wilson Reis
Welterweight George Sullivan vs. Alexander Yakovlev
Bantamweight Alex Caceres vs. Masio Fullen
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Featherweight Levan Makashvili vs. Damon Jackson
Lightweight Tony Martin vs. Felipe Olivieri
Welterweight Matt Dwyer vs. Randy Brown
Background
The event is expected to be headlined by a potential UFC light heavyweight title eliminator bout between Anthony Johnson and Ryan Bader.
A welterweight bout between former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Tarec Saffiedine and Jake Ellenberger was originally booked as the main event of UFC Fight Night: Saffiedine vs. Lim on January 4, 2014 and later as part of UFC 172 on April 26, 2014. However, the bout was cancelled both times due to Ellenberger having a hamstring injury and Saffiedine pulling out due to an undisclosed injury, respectively. The fight was later rescheduled for this event.
Joaquim Silva was expected to face Olivier Aubin-Mercier at this event. However on December 23, Silva was forced to pull out due to injury and was replaced by Carlos Diego Ferreira.
Andrew Holbrook was expected to face Sage Northcutt at this event. However on January 22, Holbrook was pulled out of the fight due to injury and was replaced by Bryan Barberena. The bout will take place at welterweight.
Jan 12 - Updated fight card & background
Jan 29 - Updated fight card & background
