UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen

UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen (also known as UFC Fight Night 179, UFC on ESPN+ 37 and UFC Fight Island 5) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 11, 2020 at the du Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.[2][3]

UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen
The poster for UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen
Information
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateOctober 11, 2020 (2020-10-11)
Venuedu Forum
CityAbu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
AttendanceNone (behind closed doors)[1]
Event chronology
UFC on ESPN: Holm vs. Aldana UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen UFC Fight Night: Ortega vs. The Korean Zombie

Background

Without fans in attendance, the promotion did not have to worry about the local timing of the event, so the plan was to proceed with normal timing for prime time hours on the east coast of North America. The main card was scheduled to begin at 4:00 am (October 11) local time in Abu Dhabi, with a full preliminary card beginning at approximately 1:00 am Gulf Standard Time.[4]

A bantamweight bout between former WSOF Bantamweight Champion and UFC Bantamweight Championship challenger Marlon Moraes and Cory Sandhagen served as the event headliner.[5]

A featherweight bout between Edson Barboza and Jeremy Stephens was briefly linked to the event.[6] However, Stephens declined the fight after indicating he did not feel the date allowed him adequate time to prepare and safely make the required weight. Barboza was scheduled to face Sodiq Yusuff instead.[7] In turn, Yusuff pulled out of the fight on September 21 due to undisclosed reasons.[8] He was replaced by Makwan Amirkhani.[9]

A flyweight bout between promotional newcomer Tagir Ulanbekov and Bruno Gustavo da Silva was expected to take place four weeks earlier at UFC Fight Night: Waterson vs. Hill.[10] However, due to travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the pairing was rescheduled and took place at this event.[11]

Rodolfo Vieira was expected to face Markus Perez in a middleweight bout at the event.[12] However, Vieira pulled out on September 21 due to an injury sustained during training.[13] He was replaced by former KSW Welterweight Champion Dricus du Plessis.[14]

A middleweight bout between Abu Azaitar and Joaquin Buckley was expected to take place at the event.[15] However, Azaitar pulled out on September 26 due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Impa Kasanganay.[16]

A middleweight bout between Tom Breese and KB Bhullar was briefly scheduled to take place at UFC on ESPN: Holm vs. Aldana a week earlier, before being moved to this event.[17][18]

A featherweight bout between Seung Woo Choi and Youssef Zalal was scheduled for the event. However, it was announced on October 2 that Choi withdrew from the fight. He was replaced by promotional newcomer Ilia Topuria.[19]

A heavyweight bout between Sergey Spivak and Tom Aspinall was expected to take place at the event. However, Spivak withdrew from the bout in early October due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by promotional newcomer Alan Baudot.[20]

A women's bantamweight bout between Tracy Cortez and Bea Malecki was also scheduled for the event. Due to undisclosed reasons, it was announced on October 2 that promotional newcomer Stephanie Egger would replace Malecki.[21]

The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America bantamweight winner Alejandro Pérez was expected to face Thomas Almeida in a bantamweight bout at the event. However, it was announced on October 2 that Pérez had been forced out of the bout after he tested positive for COVID-19.[22] He was replaced by Jonathan Martinez and the bout then moved to UFC Fight Night: Ortega vs. The Korean Zombie a week later, where it took place at featherweight.[23]

Results
Main card (ESPN+)
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Bantamweight Cory Sandhagen def. Marlon Moraes TKO (spinning wheel kick and punches) 2 1:03
Featherweight Edson Barboza def. Makwan Amirkhani Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 30–27, 29–28) 3 5:00
Heavyweight Marcin Tybura def. Ben Rothwell Decision (unanimous) (29–27, 29–27, 29–27) 3 5:00
Middleweight Dricus du Plessis def. Markus Perez KO (punches) 1 3:22
Heavyweight Tom Aspinall def. Alan Baudot TKO (elbows and punches) 1 1:35
Featherweight Ilia Topuria def. Youssef Zalal Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Preliminary card (ESPN+)
Middleweight Tom Breese def. KB Bhullar TKO (punches) 1 1:42
Heavyweight Chris Daukaus def. Rodrigo Nascimento KO (punches) 1 0:45
Middleweight Joaquin Buckley def. Impa Kasanganay KO (spinning back kick) 2 2:03
Bantamweight Tony Kelley def. Ali AlQaisi Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Featherweight Giga Chikadze def. Omar Morales Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00
Women's Bantamweight Tracy Cortez def. Stephanie Egger Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00
Flyweight Tagir Ulanbekov def. Bruno Gustavo da Silva Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00

    [24]

    Bonus awards

    The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[25]

    • Fight of the Night: No bonus awarded.
    • Performance of the Night: Cory Sandhagen, Tom Breese, Chris Daukaus and Joaquin Buckley

    See also

    References
    1. Marc Williams (2020-09-14). "UFC schedule 2020: Every upcoming event including Israel Adesanya's UFC 253 fight in Abu Dhabi and Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Justin Gaethje". talksport.com. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
    2. Guilherme Cruz (2020-09-04). "UFC 253 kicks off Fight Island return in Abu Dhabi". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-09-05.
    3. Brett Okamoto (2020-09-04). "Sources: UFC 253, 254 to be held at Fight Island". espn.com. Retrieved 2020-09-05.
    4. Press Release (2020-09-17). "UFC Fight Island - Everything you need to know". ufc.com. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
    5. Raphael Marinho (2020-08-06). "UFC targets Marlon Moraes vs. Cory Sandhagen for the October 10th card". globoesporte.globo.com. Retrieved 2020-08-06. (in Portuguese)
    6. Raphael Marinho (2020-08-06). "UFC plans Edson Barboza vs. Jeremy Stephens for October 10th event". globoesporte.globo.com. Retrieved 2020-08-17. (in Portuguese)
    7. Raphael Marinho (2020-08-16). "UFC changes plans, and Edson Barboza faces Sodiq Yusuff in October". globoesporte.globo.com. Retrieved 2020-08-17. (in Portuguese)
    8. Staff (2020-09-21). "Without an opponent Edson Barboza awaits definition from the UFC for duel at Fight Island". uol.com.br. Retrieved 2020-09-22. (in Portuguese)
    9. Mike Bohn and Nolan King (2020-09-27). "With Sodiq Yusuff out, Edson Barboza meets Makwan Amirkhani on UFC's Oct. 10 card". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
    10. Newswire (2020-07-18). "Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Bruno Silva slated for UFC event on Sept. 12". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
    11. Alexander Petzel-Gligorea (2020-09-06). "Who is fighting against whom? KW 36/2020". gnp1.de. Retrieved 2020-09-09. (in German)
    12. Staff (2020-09-06). "BJJ specialist Rodolfo Vieira meets Markus Perez on October 10". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2020-09-09. (in Dutch)
    13. Nolan King (2020-09-21). "Markus Perez dares Khamzat Chimaev to step in after Rodolfo Vieira withdraws from Oct. 10 fight". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
    14. Raphael Marinho (2020-09-24). "UFC sets former KSW champion as opponent of Markus Maluko, October 10". globoesporte.globo.com. Retrieved 2020-09-24. (in Portuguese)
    15. Staff (2020-08-22). "Abu Azaitar faces Joaquin Buckley at UFC event on Oct. 10". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2020-08-23. (in Dutch)
    16. Danny Segura (2020-09-26). "Impa Kasanganay replaces Abu Azaitar at UFC on ESPN+ 37, takes on Joaquin Buckley". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-09-26.
    17. Staff (2020-09-27). "KB Bhullar makes short notice debut against Tom Breese at UFC on ESPN 16 in Abu Dhabi". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2020-09-28. (in Dutch)
    18. Canadian Press (2020-09-28). "Edmonton's K.B. Bhullar to make UFC debut on Fight Island in October". sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
    19. Farah Hannoun (2020-10-02). "With Seung Woo Choi out, Youssef Zalal meets Ilia Topuria at UFC on ESPN+ 37". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-10-02.
    20. Guillaume (2020-10-01). "Frenchman Alan Baudot signs for the UFC!". lasueur.com. Retrieved 2020-10-02. (in French)
    21. Elias Stefanescu (2020-10-01). "Stephanie Egger vs Tracy Cortez on UFC Fight Island". gnp1.de. Retrieved 2020-10-02. (in German)
    22. Carlos Contreras Legaspi (2020-10-02). "Alejandro Pérez and Thomas Almeida fight postponed in UFC due to COVID-19". milenio.com. Retrieved 2020-10-03. (in Spanish)
    23. Farah Hannoun (2020-10-08). "With Alejandro Perez out, Thomas Almeida now faces Jonathan Martinez at UFC on ESPN+ 38". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
    24. "UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
    25. Alexander K. Lee (2020-10-11). "UFC Fight Island 5 bonuses: Joaquin Buckley leads quartet of highlight-reel performances". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
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