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UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny
UFC mixed martial arts event in 2021 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny (also known as UFC on ESPN 20 and UFC Fight Island 8) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 20, 2021, at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.[2]
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Starting with UFC on ABC: Holloway vs. Kattar, a limited number of fans were allowed inside the newly built Etihad Arena, marking the first time since UFC 248 in March 2020 that non-essential event personnel were in attendance.[3] The venue has maximum capacity of over 18,000, but the UFC is expecting to have closer to 2,000 fans for each of the Fight Island's events during the week.[4]
A welterweight bout between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev was originally expected to headline this event.[5] They were initially scheduled to serve as the headliner for UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Neal in December, but the contest was scrapped due to Edwards suffering from severe symptoms of COVID-19.[6][7] In turn, Chimaev pulled out of the contest on December 29 due to his own COVID-19 recovery.[8][9] Edwards had hoped to remain on the card against a replacement, but promotion officials intended to leave the pairing intact and reschedule it again for a later date in 2021.[10] As a result, a welterweight bout between The Ultimate Fighter: Live lightweight winner Michael Chiesa and Neil Magny served as the main-event.[11]
A women's flyweight bout between former UFC Women's Flyweight Championship challenger Roxanne Modafferi and Viviane Araújo was briefly linked to an event expected to take place on January 30.[12] However, the fight was rescheduled and took place at this event instead.[13]
Matt Schnell and Tyson Nam met in a flyweight bout at this event.[14] The pairing was previously scheduled to take place in September at UFC Fight Night: Waterson vs. Hill, but the fight was canceled on the day of the event's weigh-in as Schnell was deemed medically unfit to compete due to complications related to his weight cut.[15] They were first rebooked for UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Neal, before being moved to this event.[16]
In late December 2020, the UFC opted against holding an event on a planned January 30 date and decided to reschedule several bouts to this card:[17]
- A welterweight bout between former WEC Welterweight Champion and former interim UFC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit and Matt Brown.[18][19] Finally, they were moved to UFC on ABC: Holloway vs. Kattar.[20] They were initially scheduled to meet at UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Benavidez 2 in December 2013, but Brown pulled out due to an undisclosed injury.[21] They were booked once again in April 2018 for UFC on Fox: Poirier vs. Gaethje, but Brown had to pull out a second time as he injured his anterior cruciate ligament.[22]
- A flyweight bout between Jeff Molina and Zarrukh Adashev.[23] They were briefly expected to meet at UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. dos Anjos, but were eventually rescheduled for the scrapped date.[24][25] Yet again, Molina withdrew from the event at the end of December due to a positive COVID-19 test and was replaced by Su Mudaerji.[26][27]
- A light heavyweight bout between Vinicius Moreira and Isaac Villanueva.[28][23]
- A bantamweight rematch featuring Pedro Munhoz and Jimmie Rivera.[29][23] They previously met at UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson 3 in November 2015, when Rivera won via split decision.[30] The pairing was rescheduled once again in early January as they were moved to UFC 258 due to undisclosed reasons.[31]
- A women's flyweight bout between promotional newcomers Victoria Leonardo and Natália Silva.[32][33] In turn, Silva pulled out due to a fractured ulna and was replaced by fellow newcomer Manon Fiorot.[34][35]
A welterweight bout between Mike Jackson and Dean Barry was briefly linked to this event.[36] However, the pairing was scrapped due to undisclosed reasons.[37]
Another matchup that was shortly booked was a middleweight fight between Dalcha Lungiambula and Isi Fitikefu.[38] However, Fitikefu was removed due to an elbow injury and replaced by Markus Perez.[39]
A bantamweight bout between promotional newcomers Umar Nurmagomedov and Sergey Morozov was initially scheduled to take place at UFC 254, but Nurmagomedov pulled out due to an illness.[40] The pairing was then rescheduled for UFC 257.[41] However, the bout was yet again rescheduled to take place at this event.[42]
A middleweight bout between Omari Akhmedov and Tom Breese was originally scheduled for UFC on ABC: Holloway vs. Kattar. However, the pairing was rescheduled to take place at this event due to "COVID-19 related issues".[43][44]
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Bonus awards
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[46]
- Fight of the Night: Mike Davis vs. Mason Jones
- Performance of the Night: Warlley Alves and Umar Nurmagomedov
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