UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny | ||||
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Information | ||||
Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
Date | January 20, 2021 | |||
Venue | Etihad Arena | |||
City | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |||
Attendance | 2,000 [1] | |||
Event chronology | ||||
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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]
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 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]
Main card (ESPN / ESPN+) | |||||||
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Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
Welterweight | Michael Chiesa | def. | Neil Magny | Decision (unanimous) (49–46, 49–46, 49–46) | 5 | 5:00 | |
Welterweight | Warlley Alves | def. | Mounir Lazzez | TKO (body kicks and punches) | 1 | 2:35 | |
Light Heavyweight | Ike Villanueva | def. | Vinicius Moreira | KO (punch) | 2 | 0:39 | |
Women's Flyweight | Viviane Araújo | def. | Roxanne Modafferi | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–26) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Flyweight | Matt Schnell | def. | Tyson Nam | Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Featherweight | Lerone Murphy | def. | Douglas Silva de Andrade | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Middleweight | Omari Akhmedov | def. | Tom Breese | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | 2 | 1:41 | |
Preliminary card (ESPN / ESPN+) | |||||||
Bantamweight | Ricky Simón | def. | Gaetano Pirrello | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | 2 | 4:00 | |
Flyweight | Su Mudaerji | def. | Zarrukh Adashev | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Middleweight | Dalcha Lungiambula | def. | Markus Perez | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Flyweight | Francisco Figueiredo | def. | Jerome Rivera | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Lightweight | Mike Davis | def. | Mason Jones | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Bantamweight | Umar Nurmagomedov | def. | Sergey Morozov | Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) | 2 | 3:39 | |
Women's Flyweight | Manon Fiorot | def. | Victoria Leonardo | TKO (head kick and punches) | 2 | 4:08 |
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses. [46]
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