UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny

UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny
The poster for UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny
Information
Promotion	Ultimate Fighting Championship
Date	January 20, 2021 (2021-01-20)
Venue	Etihad Arena
City	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Attendance	2,000 [1]
Event chronology
UFC on ABC: Holloway vs. Kattar UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor 2

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]

Background

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]}

Results

Main card (ESPN / ESPN+)
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

^[45]

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

See also

• Martial Arts portal
• UAE portal

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

References

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5. Blake Schuster (2020-12-10). "Khamzat Chimaev vs. Leon Edwards planned for Jan. 20, says UFC's Dana White". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
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