UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Aldo

UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Aldo
The poster for UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Aldo
Information
Promotion	Ultimate Fighting Championship
Date	December 4, 2021 (2021-12-04)
Venue	UFC Apex
City	Enterprise, Nevada, United States
Attendance	Not announced [1]
Event chronology
UFC Fight Night: Vieira vs. Tate UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Aldo UFC 269: Oliveira vs. Poirier

UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Aldo (also known as UFC on ESPN 31 and UFC Vegas 44) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 4, 2021, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. ^[2]

Background

A bantamweight bout between Rob Font and former WEC and two-time UFC Featherweight Champion José Aldo served as the event headliner. ^[3]

Jimmy Crute and Jamahal Hill were expected to meet in a light heavyweight bout at UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Walker, but they were eventually rescheduled for this event. ^[4]

A heavyweight bout between Tanner Boser and Sergei Pavlovich was scheduled for this event. ^[5] However, the bout was scrapped due to travel issues. ^[6]

A middleweight bout between Maki Pitolo and Duško Todorović took place at the event. ^[7] They were originally scheduled for UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Sakai, but Pitolo pulled out due to undisclosed reasons. ^[8]

A women's strawweight bout featuring Montserrat Ruiz and Mallory Martin was expected to take place at the event. ^[9] However, Ruiz pulled out due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Cheyanne Vlismas. ^[10]

Brad Tavares was expected to face Brendan Allen in a middleweight bout. ^[11] He eventually pulled out in mid November and was replaced by Roman Dolidze. ^[12] In turn, Dolidze was forced to pull out due to complications in his recovery from COVID-19 and was replaced by Chris Curtis. ^[13]

A light heavyweight bout between William Knight and Alonzo Menifield took place at this event. ^[14] They were previously expected to meet at UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Gane and UFC 260, but the contest was cancelled both times due to positive COVID-19 tests from Menifield and Knight, respectively. ^{[15] [16]}

A welterweight bout between Matt Brown and Bryan Barberena was scheduled for the event. ^[17] However, on November 23, Brown was removed from the contest due to testing positive for COVID-19. ^[18] He was replaced by Darian Weeks. ^[19]

Philipe Lins was expected to face Azamat Murzakanov in a light heavyweight bout at the event. ^[20] However, Lins withdrew from the event due to undisclosed reasons and he was replaced by Jared Vanderaa, therefore changing the bout to heavyweight. ^[21] Shortly after the weigh-ins, officials had announced that the bout had been cancelled due to Vanderaa not being medically cleared. ^[22]

A welterweight bout between Jake Matthews and Jeremiah Wells was expected to take place at the event. ^[23] However, just hours before taking place, the bout was cancelled after one of Wells' cornermen tested positive for COVID-19. ^[24]

Results

Main card (ESPN/ESPN+)
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Bantamweight	José Aldo	def.	Rob Font	Decision (unanimous) (50–45, 50–45, 49–46)	5	5:00
Lightweight	Rafael Fiziev	def.	Brad Riddell	KO (spinning wheel kick)	3	2:20
Light Heavyweight	Jamahal Hill	def.	Jimmy Crute	KO (punches)	1	0:48
Lightweight	Clay Guida	def.	Leonardo Santos	Submission (rear-naked choke)	2	1:21
Middleweight	Chris Curtis	def.	Brendan Allen	TKO (punches and knees)	2	1:58
Welterweight	Alex Morono	def.	Mickey Gall	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Preliminary card (ESPN/ESPN+)
Middleweight	Duško Todorović	def.	Maki Pitolo	TKO (punches)	1	4:34
Flyweight	Manel Kape	def.	Zhalgas Zhumagulov	TKO (punches)	1	4:02
Welterweight	Bryan Barberena	def.	Darian Weeks	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Women's Strawweight	Cheyanne Vlismas	def.	Mallory Martin	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Light Heavyweight	William Knight	def.	Alonzo Menifield	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Lightweight	Claudio Puelles	def.	Chris Gruetzemacher	Submission (kneebar)	3	3:25
Bantamweight	Vince Morales	def.	Louis Smolka	KO (punches)	1	2:02

^[25]

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses. ^[26]

• Fight of the Night: Cheyanne Vlismas vs. Mallory Martin
• Performance of the Night: Rafael Fiziev, Jamahal Hill, Clay Guida, and Chris Curtis

See also

• Martial Arts portal

• List of UFC events
• List of current UFC fighters
• 2021 in UFC

References

1. Mike Bohn (2021-12-05). "UFC on ESPN 31 post-event facts: Jose Aldo's win comes with unique record". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
2. Nolan King (2021-10-20). "NAC approves UFC 269, two other UFC events for December in Las Vegas". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
3. Nolan King (2021-09-27). "UFC targets Rob Font vs. Jose Aldo for December headliner". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
4. Shaun Al-Shatti (2021-09-06). "Jimmy Crute vs. Jamahal Hill targeted for UFC event on December 4". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-09-07.
5. Marcel Dorff (2021-10-02). "Sergei Pavlovich vs. Tanner Boser added to UFC event on December 4". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2021-10-03.(in Dutch)
6. Farah Hannoun and Nolan King (2021-11-10). "Tanner Boser vs. Sergei Pavlovich off UFC on ESPN 31 due to travel issues". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
7. Marcel Dorff (2021-11-13). "Maki Pitolo vs. Dusko Todorovic rescheduled, this time for December 4 in Las Vegas". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2021-11-13.(in Dutch)
8. Farah Hannoun (2021-05-21). "With Maki Pitolo out, LFA champ Gregory Rodrigues steps in to face Dusko Todorovic at UFC Fight Night 189". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-05-21.
9. Marcel Dorff (2021-09-07). "Mallory Martin vs. Montserrat Ruiz added to UFC event on December 4". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2021-09-08.(in Dutch)
10. Farah Hannoun (2021-11-16). "With Montserrat Ruiz out, Cheyanne Buys steps in to face Mallory Martin at UFC on ESPN 31". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
11. Farah Hannoun (2021-09-14). "Brendan Allen vs. Brad Tavares added to UFC Fight Night on Dec. 4". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
12. Alexander K. Lee (2021-11-18). "Roman Dolidze steps in for Brad Tavares to fight Brendan Allen at UFC Vegas 44". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
13. Steve Duncan (2021-11-23). "Dolidze out, Chris Curtis faces Brendan Allen at UFC Vegas 44". mma.uno. Retrieved 2021-11-23.(in Spanish)
14. Marcel Dorff (2021-11-20). "UFC makes another attempt for Alonzo Menifield vs. William Knight, this time on December 4th". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2021-11-20.(in Dutch)
15. Nolan King and Mike Bohn (2020-02-25). "Alonzo Menifield tests positive for COVID-19; UFC Fight Night 186 bout vs. William Knight postponed". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
16. Nolan King (2021-03-24). "William Knight out of UFC 260 due to COVID-19 protocols; Alonzo Menifield meets Fabio Cherant". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
17. Marcel Dorff (2021-09-21). "Bryan Barberena vs. Matt Brown added to UFC event on December 4". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2021-09-21.(in Dutch)
18. Damon Martin (2021-11-23). "Matt Brown forced out of UFC Vegas 44 fight against Bryan Barberena after positive COVID-19 test". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
19. Alex Behunin (2021-11-30). "Darian Weeks to face Bryan Barberena this weekend at UFC Vegas 44". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
20. Marcel Dorff (2021-11-16). "Philipe Lins meets Azamat Murzakanov at UFC event on December 4". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2021-11-16.(in Dutch)
21. Marcel Dorff (2021-11-28). "Jared Vanderaa meets debuting Azamat Murzakanov on December 4". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2021-11-28.(in Dutch)
22. Alexander K. Lee (2021-12-03). "UFC Vegas 44 weigh-in results: Rob Font vs. Jose Aldo official, one bout cancelled". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
23. Alexander K. Lee (2021-10-12). "Jake Matthews vs. Jeremiah Wells added to Dec. 4 UFC event". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-12-04.
24. Alexander K. Lee (2021-12-04). "Jeremiah Wells announces withdrawal from UFC Vegas 44 after cornerman tests positive for COVID-19". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-12-04.
25. "UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Aldo". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
26. Steven Marrocco (2021-12-05). "UFC Vegas 44 post-fight bonuses: Clay Guida picks up 10th performance check just shy of 40th birthday". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-12-05.