UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till

UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till
The poster for UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till.
Information
Promotion	Ultimate Fighting Championship
Date	July 26, 2020 (2020-07-26)
Venue	du Forum
City	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Attendance	None (behind closed doors) [1]
Event chronology
UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2 UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan

UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till (also known as UFC on ESPN 14 and UFC Fight Island 3) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 26, 2020 at the du Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. ^[2]

Background

This event was the fourth and final UFC Fight Island event that took place on Yas Island, following UFC 251, UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige and UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2, as part of a plan to facilitate the hosting of events involving fighters impacted by U.S. travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[2]

A middleweight bout between former UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker (also The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes welterweight winner) and former UFC Welterweight Championship challenger Darren Till served as the event headliner. ^[3]

The event also included fighters that were pulled from other events previously cancelled, as well as the following bouts:

• A light heavyweight bout between the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Maurício Rua (also 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Champion) and Antônio Rogério Nogueira. ^[4] The pairing previously met at PRIDE Critical Countdown 2005 and UFC 190, with Rua winning both fights. ^[5] The bout was scheduled for the original May 9 date of UFC 250 that later became UFC 249, but cancelled due to the relocation of the event. ^[6] Nogueira announced that he planned to retire after this bout. ^[7]
• A women's bantamweight bout between former title challenger Bethe Correia and Pannie Kianzad. ^[8] This bout was also scheduled for the original May 9 date of UFC 250 and removed for the same reasons as the fight above it. ^[6]
• A welterweight bout between Danny Roberts and Nicolas Dalby. ^[9] They were scheduled to meet at UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs. Edwards, but the event was the first of five to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[10] However, Roberts was forced off the card due to injury and replaced by returning veteran Jesse Ronson. ^[11]
• A heavyweight bout between Tom Aspinall and Jake Collier. ^[9] This fight was also scheduled for UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs. Edwards and removed for the same reasons as the previous one. ^[10]

A welterweight bout between Ramazan Emeev and Shavkat Rakhmonov was expected to take place at the event. However, Rakhmonov was forced to withdraw due to injury on July 2 and replaced by Niklas Stolze. ^{[12] [13]}

Umar Nurmagomedov was expected to face Nathaniel Wood in a bantamweight bout at this event. However, he pulled out on July 3 after his uncle, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov (also the father of former UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov), died from complications related to COVID-19. ^[14] He was replaced by promotional newcomer John Castañeda. ^[15]

A women's strawweight bout between former Invicta FC and UFC Women's Strawweight Champion Carla Esparza and Marina Rodriguez was scheduled for UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige nine days earlier. However, a Rodriguez cornerman tested positive for COVID-19 and the bout was cancelled. Rodriguez had her test come back negative, but the bout was scrapped due to precautionary reasons. ^[16] They were rescheduled for this event. ^[17]

Justin Tafa was expected to face Raphael Pessoa in a heavyweight bout at this event. However, he pulled out on July 15 due to unknown reasons and was replaced by Tanner Boser. ^[18]

At the weigh-ins, Francisco Trinaldo weighed in at 160 pounds, four pounds over the lightweight non-title fight limit. His bout proceeded at a catchweight and he was fined 30% of his purse, which went to his opponent Jai Herbert. ^[19]

Results

Main card (ESPN / ESPN+)
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Middleweight	Robert Whittaker	def.	Darren Till	Decision (unanimous) (48–47, 48–47, 48–47)	5	5:00
Light Heavyweight	Maurício Rua	def.	Antônio Rogério Nogueira	Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28)	3	5:00
Heavyweight	Fabrício Werdum	def.	Alexander Gustafsson	Submission (armbar)	1	2:30
Women's Strawweight	Carla Esparza	def.	Marina Rodriguez	Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 30–27)	3	5:00
Light Heavyweight	Paul Craig	def.	Gadzhimurad Antigulov	Submission (triangle choke)	1	2:06
Welterweight	Alex Oliveira	def.	Peter Sobotta	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Welterweight	Khamzat Chimaev	def.	Rhys McKee	TKO (punches)	1	3:09
Preliminary Card (ESPN / ESPN+)
Catchweight (160 lb)	Francisco Trinaldo	def.	Jai Herbert	TKO (punch)	3	1:30
Welterweight	Jesse Ronson	vs.	Nicolas Dalby	No Contest (overturned)	1	2:48	[lower-alpha 1]
Heavyweight	Tom Aspinall	def.	Jake Collier	TKO (punches)	1	0:45
Featherweight	Movsar Evloev	def.	Mike Grundy	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28)	3	5:00
Heavyweight	Tanner Boser	def.	Raphael Pessoa	TKO (punches)	2	2:36
Women's Bantamweight	Pannie Kianzad	def.	Bethe Correia	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28)	3	5:00
Welterweight	Ramazan Emeev	def.	Niklas Stolze	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28)	3	5:00
Bantamweight	Nathaniel Wood	def.	John Castañeda	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00

1. Originally a submission (rear-naked choke) win for Ronson; overturned after he tested positive for metandienone. ^[20]

^[21]

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses. ^[22]

• Fight of the Night: No bonus awarded.
• Performance of the Night: Fabrício Werdum, Paul Craig, Khamzat Chimaev, Jesse Ronson, Tom Aspinall and Tanner Boser

Records set

The event's 15 bouts tied UFC 2 for the most on a single card in UFC history. ^[23]

Khamzat Chimaev broke the record for quickest turnaround between UFC wins at 10 days (not including one-night-tournaments during the UFC's early days). ^[24]

Aftermath

On November 18, it was announced by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) that Jesse Ronson was suspended for 20 months after he tested positive for metandienone in an out-of-competition test conducted on July 22 and didn't disclose his use of the substance in his onboarding documents prior to re-joining the UFC. His suspension is retroactive to the test failure, meaning he'll be cleared to compete on March 22, 2022. They also announced that Ronson's victory was overturned to a no contest due to the violation. ^[20]

See also

• Martial Arts portal
• UAE portal

• List of UFC events
• List of current UFC fighters
• 2020 in UFC

References

1. Andreas Hale (2020-07-25). "What time is UFC Fight Night? Robert Whittaker vs. Darren Till TV channel, live stream schedule, odds". dazn.com. Retrieved 2020-07-25.
2. Farah Hannoun (2020-06-09). "UFC 'Fight Island' is ... Yas Island, Abu Dhabi". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
3. Parviz Iskenderov (2020-05-29). "Robert Whittaker vs Darren Till to headline July 25 card on UFC Fight Island". fightmag.com. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
4. Nolan King (2020-06-04). "Dana White: UFC books Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Mauricio Rua 3 for July 25". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
5. Staff (2020-02-20). "Shogun and Minotouro face off for the third time at UFC 250 in São Paulo". globoesporte.globo.com. Retrieved 2020-06-18.(in Portuguese)
6. Staff (2020-04-09). "Jose Aldo among Brazilians out of UFC 250 and beyond because of visa issues during pandemic". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
7. Mike Bohn and John Morgan (2020-07-21). "Antônio Rogério Nogueira plans to retire after trilogy bout with 'Shogun' Rua at UFC on ESPN 14". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
8. Marcelo Barone (2020-05-23). "Ultimate plans to reschedule fight between Bethe Correia and Pannie Kianzad for July, on Fight Island". globoesporte.globo.com. Retrieved 2020-06-18.(in Portuguese)
9. Mike Heck (2020-06-18). "UFC announces full lineups for July events on 'Fight Island,' including four title fights". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
10. Farah Hannoun (2020-03-24). "Dana White: All called-off fights, including Tyron Woodley vs. Leon Edwards, are being rescheduled". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
11. Staff (2020-07-03). "Jesse Ronson takes short notice match against Nicolas Dalby on July 25 in Abu Dhabi". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2020-07-03.(in Dutch)
12. Alexander K. Lee (2020-07-02). "Danny Roberts, Shavkat Rakhmonov off of July 25 UFC 'Fight Island' card". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
13. Staff (2020-07-05). "Niklas Stolze replaces Shavkat Rakhmonov against Ramazan Emeev on July 25 in Abu Dhabi". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2020-07-05.(in Dutch)
14. Amy Kaplan (2020-07-03). "Umar Nurmagomedov, Tagir Ulanbekov delay travel to Fight Island following the passing of Khabib's dad". fansided.com. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
15. Nolan King and Simon Head (2020-07-09). "UFC taps John Castaneda to replace Umar Nurmagomedov, will fight Nathaniel Wood on 'Fight Island'". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
16. Danny Segura and Nolan King (2020-07-03). "Marina Rodriguez vs. Carla Esparza removed from July 15 UFC event after positive COVID-19 test". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
17. Staff (2020-07-05). "Carla Esparza vs. Marina Rodriguez reset for July 25 UFC show in Abu Dhabi". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
18. Nolan King (2020-07-15). "Justin Tafa off July 25 UFC 'Fight Island' event; Tanner Boser expected to face Raphael Pessoa". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
19. Staff (2020-07-24). "UFC on ESPN 14 weigh-in results: 15-fight card set, but one fighter heavy". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
20. Nolan King (2020-11-18). "UFC welterweight Jesse Ronson gets 20-month USADA suspension after failed drug test, win overturned (updated)". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
21. "UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
22. Jay Anderson (2020-07-26). "UFC Fight Island 3 bonuses: six fighters earn 50K Performance of the Night awards". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
23. Casey Olson (2020-07-24). "UFC Fight Island 3: Robert Whittaker vs Darren Till". si.com. Retrieved 2020-07-25.
24. Mike Bohn (2020-07-25). "UFC on ESPN 14 results: Khamzat Chimaev makes history with second UFC win in 10 days". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-07-25.