UFC 244

UFC 244: Masvidal vs. Diaz
The poster for UFC 244: Masvidal vs. Diaz.
Information
Promotion	Ultimate Fighting Championship
Date	November 2, 2019 (2019-11-02)
Venue	Madison Square Garden
City	New York City, New York, United States
Attendance	20,143 [1]
Total gate	$6,575,996.19 [1]
Event chronology
UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Askren UFC 244: Masvidal vs. Diaz UFC Fight Night: Zabit vs. Kattar

UFC 244: Masvidal vs. Diaz was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 2, 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, United States. ^[2] It was the UFC's 500th live event. ^[3]

Background

Card changes and main event jeopardy

A welterweight bout between Jorge Masvidal and former UFC Lightweight Championship challenger and The Ultimate Fighter 5 lightweight winner Nate Diaz headlined the event. ^[4] After his UFC 241 win against former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, Diaz proclaimed himself the "baddest motherfucker in the game" and issued a challenge to Masvidal. When the fight was scheduled, Dana White announced that a celebratory "baddest motherfucker" belt, embossed "BMF," would be awarded to the winner. ^[5] However, on October 24, Diaz tweeted a statement saying he would not be competing due to an adverse drug test finding, which put the bout in jeopardy. ^[6] On October 26, the UFC announced that Diaz had been cleared to compete, as his positive test had traces of LGD-4033, or Ligandrol, a selective androgen receptor modulator which was known to be linked to a tainted batch of organic, vegan multivitamins. ^[7]

Krzysztof Jotko was scheduled to face Edmen Shahbazyan at the event. However, Jotko was removed from the card in early October for undisclosed reasons and replaced by Brad Tavares. ^[8]

Weigh-ins

At the weigh-ins, former Invicta FC Flyweight Champion Jennifer Maia weighed in at 127.2 pounds, 1.2 pounds over the flyweight non-title fight limit of 126 pounds. The bout proceeded at a catchweight and Maia was fined 25% of her purse, which went to her opponent Katlyn Chookagian. ^[9]

Prior to the ceremonial weigh-ins, the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) issued a rare statement in which it was announced that they would be pursuing disciplinary action against The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen middleweight winner and former interim title challenger Kelvin Gastelum. In the statement, the Athletic Commission stated that following a review of Gastelum's weigh-in video they "determined that Mr. Gastelum made contact with another person while on the scale, a violation of the weigh in policy. In light of this violation, the Commission will pursue disciplinary action. At this time, the official weight determination will not be disturbed, and Mr. Gastelum will not be disqualified from competing in UFC 244." ^[10]

Fines

On November 8, it was announced that Corey Anderson had been fined $10,000 by the NYSAC for "unsportsmanlike and disorderly conduct" for taunting and screaming at Johnny Walker and shoving the referee away during his post-fight celebration. Kelvin Gastelum was also fined $1,000 for making physical contact with his coach Rafael Cordeiro while on the scale at the weigh-ins. ^[11]

Event

The event consisted of twelve mixed martial arts bouts sanctioned by the NYSAC and contested under the unified rules of mixed martial arts. The first eleven bouts were scheduled for three five-minute rounds and the main event between Masvidal and Diaz was scheduled for five five-minute rounds. Five main card bouts were televised live on ESPN+ pay-per-view. Four preliminary bouts were televised live on ESPN2 and three were streamed live on UFC Fight Pass and ESPN+. ^[12] UFC 244 set the second best mixed martial arts gate record in New York. The event earned $6,575,996.19 in ticket sales, behind the previous record set at UFC 205.

Early Preliminary card

In the first bout at the event, Hakeem Dawodu outpointed Julio Arce at featherweight to win via split decision, 29–28 on two judges scorecards. ^[13]

The second match up saw Lyman Good defeat Chance Rencountre via technical knockout (TKO) in the third round. ^[14]

Next, in a women's flyweight bout, Katlyn Chookagian defeated Jennifer Maia via unanimous decision; the score was 29–28 on all three judges scorecards. ^[15]

Preliminary card

The prelims began at 8 p.m. Eastern Time Zone and four bouts were broadcast on ESPN2. All four bouts ended in round one via TKOs or knockouts (KOs), except one finished in round three. ^[16]

The first fight on the preliminary card was between Jairzinho Rozenstruik and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski. Rozenstruik defeated Arlovski via KO, just 29 seconds into the first round. ^[17]

The next fight was a middleweight bout between Edmen Shahbazyan and Brad Tavares. Shahbazyan won via head kick KO in the first round. ^[18]

The penultimate preliminary bout saw Shane Burgos defeat Makwan Amirkhani via TKO due to punches in the third round. ^[19]

In the preliminary card's final match, a light heavyweight contest between Corey Anderson and Johnny Walker, Anderson beat Walker via TKO in round one. ^[20] After the fight, Dana White criticized Walker for his in-fight behavior. ^[21]

Main card

The first bout on the pay-per-view portion of the event saw former interim title challenger Kevin Lee take on the undefeated Gregor Gillespie in a lightweight contest. Lee defeated Gillespie via head kick KO in the first round. ^[22] This win earned him the Performance of the Night bonus. ^[23]

Derrick Lewis defeated Blagoy Ivanov by via split decision, winning 30–27 and 29–28 on two judges scorecards. ^[24]

Stephen Thompson defeated Vicente Luque via unanimous decision. This fight earned them the Fight of the Night bonus. ^[23]

Darren Till returned to the middleweight division, defeating Kelvin Gastelum via split decision. Till won 29–28 and 30–27 on two judges scorecards. ^[25]

Main event

The final bout of the main card, a welterweight match between Jorge Masvidal and former UFC Lightweight Championship challenger Nate Diaz, was for the symbolic "BMF" belt. ^[26] Masvidal was awarded the TKO victory when the cageside doctor, Nitin K. Sethi, ruled that Diaz was unable to continue between the third and fourth rounds. ^[27]

Results

Main card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Welterweight	Jorge Masvidal	def.	Nate Diaz	TKO (doctor stoppage)	3	5:00	[lower-alpha 1]
Middleweight	Darren Till	def.	Kelvin Gastelum	Decision (split) (27–30, 29–28, 30–27)	3	5:00
Welterweight	Stephen Thompson	def.	Vicente Luque	Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 30–26, 29–27)	3	5:00
Heavyweight	Derrick Lewis	def.	Blagoy Ivanov	Decision (split) (30–27, 28–29, 29–28)	3	5:00
Lightweight	Kevin Lee	def.	Gregor Gillespie	KO (head kick)	1	2:47
Preliminary card (ESPN2)
Light Heavyweight	Corey Anderson	def.	Johnny Walker	TKO (punches)	1	2:07
Featherweight	Shane Burgos	def.	Makwan Amirkhani	TKO (punches)	3	4:32
Middleweight	Edmen Shahbazyan	def.	Brad Tavares	KO (head kick)	1	2:27
Heavyweight	Jairzinho Rozenstruik	def.	Andrei Arlovski	KO (punch)	1	0:29
Early Preliminary card (UFC Fight Pass)
Catchweight (127.2 lb)	Katlyn Chookagian	def.	Jennifer Maia	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Welterweight	Lyman Good	def.	Chance Rencountre	TKO (punches)	3	2:03
Featherweight	Hakeem Dawodu	def.	Julio Arce	Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28)	3	5:00

1. For the symbolic "BMF" Championship.

^[28]

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses. ^[29]

• Fight of the Night: Stephen Thompson vs. Vicente Luque
• Performance of the Night: Kevin Lee and Corey Anderson

See also

• New York City portal
• Martial Arts portal

• List of UFC events
• 2019 in UFC
• List of current UFC fighters
• Mixed martial arts in New York

References

1. Trent Reinsmith. "UFC 244 Delivers Second-Best Gate And Attendance For UFC Event In New York". forbes. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
2. Guilherme Cruz (July 8, 2019). "UFC announces fourth quarter schedule for 2019". mmafighting.com. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
3. Staff (September 7, 2019). "UFC will hold its 500th event at Madison Square Garden headlined by Jorge Masvidal vs Nate Diaz". fightbookmma.com. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
4. Ariel Helwani (September 7, 2019). "Diaz-Masvidal to headline UFC 244 on Nov. 2". espn.com. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
5. Dave Doyle and Matt Erickson (September 19, 2019). "Dana White confirms Nate Diaz-Jorge Masvidal winner will get 'BMF' belt". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
6. Steve Marracco (October 24, 2019). "Nate Diaz claims he's failed drug test, won't fight at UFC 244". mmafighting.com. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
7. Dave Doyle and John Morgan (October 26, 2019). "UFC 244 main event of Jorge Masvidal vs. Nate Diaz still on". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
8. Mike Bohn and Farah Hannoun (October 2, 2019). "Brad Tavares moved to UFC 244 for matchup with unbeaten Edmen Shahbazyan". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
9. Cole Shelton (November 2, 2019). "UFC 244 weigh-in results: main event set; Jennifer Maia misses weight". sherdog.com. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
10. Steven Marrocco (November 1, 2019). "NYSAC decides to pursue 'disciplinary action' against Kelvin Gastelum, but UFC 244 bout will go on". mmafighting.com. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
11. Steven Marrocco (November 8, 2019). "NYSAC fines Kelvin Gastelum, Rafael Cordeiro and Corey Anderson for UFC 244 actions". mmafighting.com. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
12. MMA Fighting Newswire (November 2, 2019). "UFC 244 start time, TV schedule for Masvidal vs. Diaz". mmafighting. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
13. Shillan, Keith (November 2, 2019). "UFC 244 Results: Hakeem Dawodu Beats Julio Arce by Narrow Split Decision". Cageside Press. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
14. Anderson, Jay (November 2, 2019). "UFC 244 Results: Lyman Good Bludgeons, Bloodies Chance Rencountre". Cageside Press. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
15. Anderson, Jay (November 2, 2019). "UFC 244 Results: Katlyn Chookagian Decisions Jennifer Maia, Wants Title Shot". Cageside Press. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
16. Trent Reinsmith. "UFC 244: ESPN2 Preliminary Card Delivers Solid Ratings". forbes. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
17. Anderson, Jay (November 2, 2019). "UFC 244 Results: Jairzinho Rozenstruik Looks Fierce in Knockout of Andrei Arlovski". Cageside Press. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
18. Doherty, Dan (November 2, 2019). "UFC 244 Results: Edmen Shahbazyan Knocks Out Brad Tavares With First Round Head Kick". Cageside Press. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
19. Doherty, Dan (November 2, 2019). "UFC 244 Results: Shane Burgos Batters Makwan Amirkhani With Late Stoppage". Cageside Press. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
20. Doherty, Dan (November 2, 2019). "UFC 244 Results: Corey Anderson Makes Huge Statement With First-Round KO". Cageside Press. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
21. "Dana White on Johnny Walker UFC 244 loss: You can't 'goof around like that'". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
22. Richardson, Andrew (November 2, 2019). "Lee Knocks Gillespie Out With Huge High Kick!". MMAmania.com. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
23. Fuentes, Jon (November 3, 2019). "UFC 244 Bonuses, Attendance & Gate". LowKickMMA.com. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
24. Richardson, Andrew (November 2, 2019). "Lewis Bloodies Ivanov, Wins Split-Decision". MMAmania.com. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
25. Fuentes, Jon (November 3, 2019). "UFC 244 Bonuses, Attendance & Gate". LowKickMMA.com. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
26. "Dana White confirms Nate Diaz-Jorge Masvidal winner will get 'BMF' belt". MMA Junkie. September 20, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
27. "Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal Results and News - UFC 244: Masvidal vs. Diaz - MMA Fighting". www.mmafighting.com. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
28. "UFC 244: Masvidal vs. Diaz". Ultimate Fighting Championship. July 23, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
29. Jon Fuentes (November 3, 2019). "UFC 244 Bonuses, Attendance & Gate". lowkickmma.com. Retrieved November 3, 2019.