The UFC 188 bout order has been finalized with 12 fights from top to bottom. UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez fights for the first time since October 2013, as he takes on interim champion Fabricio Werdum. In the co-main event is Gilbert Melendez against Eddie Alvarez in a Bellator vs. Strikeforce dream match-up . TUF 17 winner Kelvin Gastelum's weight cutting problems have got him back to middleweight for a fight vs. Nate Marquardt. TUF Latin America winner Yair Rodriguez faces Charles Rosa, and women's strawweight contender Tecia Torres battles Angela Hill.
Preliminary card notables include Henry Cejudo against Chico Camus on the televised broadcast, as well as welterweight striker Albert Tumenov against Hector Urbina.