UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. LaFlare

UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. LaFlare (also known as UFC Fight Night 62) was a mixed martial arts event held on March 21, 2015, at the Ginásio do Maracanãzinho in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.^[2]

UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. LaFlare
The poster for UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. LaFlare
Promotion	Ultimate Fighting Championship
Date	March 21, 2015 (2015-03-21)
Venue	Ginásio do Maracanãzinho
City	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Attendance	7,707[1]
Event chronology
UFC 185: Pettis vs. dos Anjos UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. LaFlare UFC Fight Night: Mendes vs. Lamas

Background

After hosting a PPV event at the venue and some others at HSBC Arena, the event was the first Fight Night that the UFC has hosted in Rio de Janeiro.^[2]

The event was expected to be headlined by a bantamweight rematch between Urijah Faber and Raphael Assunção.^[3] However, on February 2, Assunção was forced out of the bout as his ankle, injured in mid-December 2014, was slow to heal and he was unable to resume the proper training to prepare for the fight in that time frame.^[4] The UFC also removed Faber from the card and promoted a welterweight bout between Demian Maia and Ryan LaFlare to the main event.^[5]

Matt Wiman was expected to face Leonardo Santos at the event. However, on February 11, Wiman pulled out of the bout citing a back injury and was replaced by Anthony Rocco Martin.^[6]

Josh Thomson was expected to face Gilbert Burns at the event. However, on February 26, Thomson pulled out of the fight with an undisclosed injury,^[7] while Burns remained on the card and faced promotional newcomer Alex Oliveira.^[8]

Ben Saunders was expected to face Erick Silva at the event. However, on March 6, Saunders pulled out of the bout due to an injury.^[9] He was replaced by Josh Koscheck.^[10] Koscheck had previously fought just 21 days before this event at UFC 184, losing his fight against Jake Ellenberger.^[11]

A lightweight fight between Leandro Silva and Drew Dober ended with controversy as referee Eduardo Herdy stopped the bout at 2:45 of the second round for no apparent reason, as Dober had already escaped a guillotine choke attempt.^[12] The result was met with an enormous number of complaints from several people related to mixed martial arts. Dober was paid his win bonus regardless.^[13] Although initially announcing the controversial result would stand, the Comissão Atlética Brasileira de MMA (CABMMA) – Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission – overturned Silva's win and declared the fight a no-contest on March 26.^[14]

On April 9, the CABMMA announced that Jorge de Oliveira failed a fight night drug test, testing positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol. He was suspended for one year, retroactive to the event date.^[15]

Results

Main Card (Fox Sports 1)
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Welterweight	Demian Maia	def.	Ryan LaFlare	Decision (unanimous) (48–46, 48–46, 48–46)	5	5:00	[a]
Welterweight	Erick Silva	def.	Josh Koscheck	Submission (guillotine choke)	1	4:21
Lightweight	Leonardo Santos	def.	Anthony Rocco Martin	Submission (rear-naked choke)	2	2:29
Women's Bantamweight	Amanda Nunes	def.	Shayna Baszler	TKO (leg kick)	1	1:56
Lightweight	Gilbert Burns	def.	Alex Oliveira	Submission (armbar)	3	4:14
Featherweight	Godofredo Pepey	def.	Andre Fili	Submission (flying triangle choke)	1	3:14
Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 2)
Lightweight	Francisco Trinaldo	def.	Akbarh Arreola	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Featherweight	Kevin Souza	def.	Katsunori Kikuno	KO (punch)	1	1:31
Lightweight	Leandro Silva	vs.	Drew Dober	No Contest (overturned)	2	2:45	[b]
Lightweight	Leonardo Mafra	def.	Cain Carrizosa	Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Lightweight	Christos Giagos	def.	Jorge de Oliveira	Submission (rear-naked choke)	1	3:12
Flyweight	Fredy Serrano	def.	Bentley Syler	KO (punch)	3	1:34

1. Maia was docked 1 point in the 5th round for stalling on the ground and not engaging in the fight.
2. Originally ruled a submission (guillotine choke) victory for Silva; result overturned to "No Contest" by CABMMA as referee errantly stopped the fight.^[14]

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Bonus awards

The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses:^[18]

• Fight of the Night: None awarded
• Performance of the Night: Gilbert Burns, Godofredo Pepey, Kevin Souza and Fredy Serrano

See also

• List of UFC events
• 2015 in UFC