UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny

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]

UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny
The poster for UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny
Information
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateJanuary 20, 2021 (2021-01-20)
VenueEtihad Arena
CityAbu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Attendance2,000[1]
Event chronology
UFC on ABC: Holloway vs. Kattar UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor 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 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

    References
    1. Jeff Fox (2021-01-20). "UFC Fight Night: Chiesa vs Magny fighter salaries, incentive pay & attendance". thesportsdaily.com. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
    2. Alexander K. Lee (2020-12-22). "Dana White announces UFC 257, first three events of 2021 to take place on Fight Island". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
    3. Staff (2021-01-07). "Fans are back: UFC will have 'limited' attendance at three-card 'Fight Island' stint at Etihad Arena". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
    4. Newswire (2021-01-10). "Etihad Arena lists official COVID-19 safety measures for fans at January UFC Fight Island shows". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
    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.
    6. Mike Bohn (2020-10-23). "UFC books Leon Edwards vs. Khamzat Chimaev, expected to headline Dec. 19". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
    7. Ariel Helwani (2020-12-01). "Sources: Leon Edwards-Khamzat Chimaev fight off after Edwards tests positive for COVID-19". espn.com. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
    8. Farah Hannoun (2020-12-29). "Khamzat Chimaev ruled out of UFC 'Fight Island' headliner with Leon Edwards". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
    9. Danny Segura (2020-12-30). "COVID-19 complications led to Khamzat Chimaev's withdrawal from Leon Edwards bout". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
    10. Staff (2020-12-30). "Leon Edwards-Khamzat Chimaev pushed back; Neil Magny-Michael Chiesa new Jan. 20 main event". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
    11. Mike Heck (2020-12-30). "Michael Chiesa vs. Neil Magny now headlines UFC Fight Island 8". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
    12. Farah Hannoun (2020-10-12). "UFC adds Roxanne Modafferi vs. Viviane Araujo to Jan. 30 event". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
    13. Jay Pettry (2020-12-03). "UFC to stage Jan. 20 event, adds 3 matches including Francisco Figueirido-Jerome Rivera". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
    14. Farah Hannoun and Nolan King (2020-12-11). "Matt Schnell vs. Tyson Nam rebooked for UFC Fight Night on Jan. 20". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
    15. Staff (2020-09-11). "Weight-cutting issues scrap Tyson Nam from Matt Schnell fight at UFC on ESPN+ 35". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-09-11.
    16. Nolan King (2020-10-25). "UFC books Matt Schnell vs. Tyson Nam for Dec. 19 event in Las Vegas". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
    17. Ross Cole (2020-12-23). "UFC scraps plans for January 30th Fight Night event". mmainsight.com. Retrieved 2020-12-26.
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    19. Redactie (2020-12-22). "Carlos Condit vs. Matt Brown scheduled for the third time, this time on January 20, 2021". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2020-12-22. (in Dutch)
    20. Staff (2021-01-07). "UFC returns to UFC Fight Island". ufc.com. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
    21. Staff (2013-12-07). "Matt Brown injured, fight vs. Carlos Condit scrapped from UFC on FOX 9". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
    22. Dave Doyle (2018-04-02). "Injury forces Matt Brown out of UFC on FOX 29 bout with Carlos Condit". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
    23. Aaron Malone (2020-12-23). "Mike Jackson makes UFC return following CM Punk win, Fight Island card scrapped - Fight announcement roundup". fightful.com. Retrieved 2020-12-26.
    24. Staff (2020-09-14). "Jeff Molina vs. Zarrukh Adashev added to UFC event on November 14". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2020-09-15. (in Dutch)
    25. Staff (2020-10-30). "Upcoming fight rescheduled". rotowire.com. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
    26. Nolan King and Farah Hannoun (2020-12-29). "Zarrukh Adashev in need of new UFC Fight Night opponent after Jeffrey Molina withdraws". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-12-30.
    27. Staff (2020-12-31). "Su Mudaerji takes short notice match against Zarrukh Adashev on January 20 in Abu Dhabi". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2020-12-31. (in Dutch)
    28. Staff (2020-10-19). "Villanueva and Moreira fight for their first UFC win on January 30, 2021". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2020-10-20. (in Dutch)
    29. Farah Hannoun and Mike Bohn (2020-11-21). "Pedro Munhoz vs. Jimmie Rivera 2 added to UFC Fight Night on Jan. 30". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
    30. Ben Fowlkes (2015-11-07). "UFC Fight Night 77 results: Jimmie Rivera takes split decision from Pedro Munhoz". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-12-26.
    31. Mike Heck and Guilherme Cruz (2021-01-07). "Pedro Munhoz vs. Jimmie Rivera rematch rescheduled for UFC 258". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
    32. Marcelo Barone (2020-11-22). "Silva has UFC debut scheduled for January". globoesporte.globo.com. Retrieved 2020-11-22. (in Portuguese)
    33. Noah (2020-12-25). "Flyweight bout between newcomers Victoria Leonardo & Natalia Silva being moved to UFC event on January 20". wmmarankings.com. Retrieved 2020-12-26.
    34. Noah (2020-12-25). "Natalia Silva injured, out of January 20th UFC fight against Victoria Leonardo". wmmarankings.com. Retrieved 2020-12-26.
    35. Steven Marrocco and Guilherme Cruz (2020-12-26). "Natalia Silva fractures ulna, Manon Fiorot in to face Victoria Leonardo at UFC Fight Island 8". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-12-26.
    36. Alexander K. Lee and Mike Heck (2020-12-22). "Mike Jackson returns, faces octagon newcomer Dean Barry at Jan. 20 UFC event". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
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    39. Staff (2021-01-02). "Short notice match for Markus Perez in Abu Dhabi against Dalcha Lungiambula on January 20". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2021-01-02. (in Dutch)
    40. Simon Head (2020-10-18). "Umar Nurmagomedov hospitalized in Dubai, ruled out of octagon debut at UFC 254". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
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    46. Trent Reinsmith (2021-01-20). "UFC Fight Island 8 post-fight bonuses: Body kick TKO nets Warlley Alves $50k". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
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