UFC on ESPN: Reyes vs. Procházka

UFC on ESPN: Reyes vs. Procházka (also known as UFC on ESPN 23 and UFC Vegas 25) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 1, 2021 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.[2]

UFC on ESPN: Reyes vs. Procházka
The poster for UFC on ESPN: Reyes vs. Procházka
Information
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateMay 1, 2021 (2021-05-01)
VenueUFC Apex
CityEnterprise, Nevada, United States
AttendanceNone (behind closed doors)[1]
Event chronology
UFC 261: Usman vs. Masvidal 2 UFC on ESPN: Reyes vs. Procházka UFC on ESPN: Rodriguez vs. Waterson

Background

A light heavyweight bout between former UFC Light Heavyweight Championship challenger Dominick Reyes and former Rizin Light Heavyweight Champion Jiří Procházka served as the main event.[3] The pairing was initially expected to take place as the headliner on February 27, but they were rescheduled after Reyes had been forced from the contest with an injury.[4][5]

A welterweight bout between Mike Jackson and Dean Barry was briefly linked to UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny in January, but it was pulled due to undisclosed reasons.[6] They were then expected to meet at this event before being rescheduled once again.[7]

Gavin Tucker was briefly linked to a bout with Cub Swanson at the event.[8] However, Tucker was tabbed as a short notice replacement to face Dan Ige at UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad instead.[9] Swanson faced Giga Chikadze instead.[10]

A bantamweight bout between Merab Dvalishvili and Cody Stamann has been rescheduled for a third time and took place at the event.[11] The pairing was first scheduled to meet in last December at UFC on ESPN: Hermansson vs. Vettori, but Stamann pulled out due to undisclosed reasons and the bout was scrapped.[12] They were then rescheduled for UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Volkov in February, but Dvalishvili hadn't recovered from COVID-19 and had to pull out.[13]

A women's strawweight bout between Ji Yeon Kim and Poliana Botelho was scheduled for the preliminary portion of the card.[14] However, Kim pulled out of the fight on March 22 citing injury and was replaced by Mayra Bueno Silva.[15] Botelho then suffered another opponent change as Bueno suffered a back injury in late March.[16] On March 31, Luana Carolina was announced as her new opponent.[17]

Randa Markos was expected to face promotional newcomer Luana Pinheiro in a women's strawweight bout at UFC 260, but had to pull out after testing positive for COVID-19.[18] The pairing was left intact and rescheduled for this event.[19]

T.J. Laramie and Damon Jackson were expected to meet in a featherweight bout at the event.[20] However in late March, Laramie pulled out of the fight due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Luke Sanders.[21][22] On April 22, it was Jackson that pulled out due to an injury. Journey Newson, who was expected to face Felipe Colares in a bantamweight bout, also pulled out due to injury. The promotion decided to match Sanders and Corales as a result of those removals.[23]

Augusto Sakai and Shamil Abdurakhimov were expected to meet in a heavyweight bout at the event.[24] However, Abdurakhimov pulled out of the bout due to visa issues, prompting the UFC to book Sakai against Jairzinho Rozenstruik as the headliner at UFC Fight Night 189.[25]

A light heavyweight bout between Ion Cuțelaba and Devin Clark was scheduled for the event.[26] However, Clark pulled out from the event citing an injury and was replaced by Dustin Jacoby.[27]

At the weigh-ins, Luana Carolina and Gabriel Benítez missed weight for their respective bouts. Carolina weighed in 128.5 pounds, 2.5 pounds over the women’s flyweight non-title limit. Her bout proceeded at catchweight and she was fined 20% of her purse which went to Botelho.[28] Benítez weighed in at 150.5 pounds, 4.5 pounds over the featherweight non-title limit. His opponent Jonathan Pearce turned down the fight due to the weight miss and the bout was scrapped.[29]

Results
Main card (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Light Heavyweight Jiří Procházka def. Dominick Reyes KO (spinning back elbow) 2 4:29
Featherweight Giga Chikadze def. Cub Swanson TKO (body kick and punches) 1 1:03
Light Heavyweight Ion Cuțelaba vs. Dustin Jacoby Draw (split) (28–29, 29–28, 28–28) 3 5:00
Middleweight Sean Strickland def. Krzysztof Jotko Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) 3 5:00
Bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili def. Cody Stamann Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Preliminary card (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Women’s Strawweight Luana Pinheiro def. Randa Markos DQ (illegal upkick) 1 4:16
Featherweight T.J. Brown def. Kai Kamaka III Decision (split) (27–30, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Catchweight (128.5 lb) Luana Carolina def. Poliana Botelho Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) 3 5:00
Women’s Strawweight Loma Lookboonmee def. Sam Hughes Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Middleweight Andreas Michailidis def. KB Bhullar Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) 3 5:00
Featherweight Felipe Colares def. Luke Sanders Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00

    [30]

    Bonus awards

    The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[31]

    • Fight of the Night: Jiří Procházka vs. Dominick Reyes
    • Performance of the Night: Jiří Procházka and Giga Chikadze

    See also

    References
    1. Mike Bohn (2021-05-02). "UFC on ESPN 23 post-event facts: Jiri Prochazka's KO of Dominick Reyes was historic". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
    2. Steven Marrocco (2021-04-01). "UFC requests four events for May at UFC APEX in Las Vegas". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
    3. Mike Bohn and Farah Hannoun (2021-02-11). "Dominick Reyes vs. Jiri Prochazka rescheduled for UFC main event on May 1". mmajunkie.usaotoday.com. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
    4. Brett Okamoto (2020-10-27). "Dominick Reyes, Jiri Prochazka to headline UFC Fight Night on Feb. 27". espn.com. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
    5. Damon Martin (2021-02-03). "Dominick Reyes injured, fight against Jiri Prochazka expected to be rescheduled for later date". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
    6. Damon Martin and Mike Heck (2021-01-01). "Mike Jackson vs. Dean Barry scrapped from UFC Fight Island 8, fight expected to be rescheduled". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-01-01.
    7. Lenny March (2021-02-06). "Mike Jackson set to return, faces UFC newcomer Dean Barry – fight rescheduled for May 1st event". mymmanews.com. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
    8. Jay Pettry (2021-02-04). "Report: Cub Swanson returns against Gavin Tucker at UFC card on May 1". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
    9. Nolan King (2021-02-22). "With Ryan Hall out, Gavin Tucker steps in to fight Dan Ige at UFC Fight Night 187". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
    10. Farah Hannoun (2021-03-03). "Cub Swanson set to face Giga Chikadze at UFC Fight Night on May 1". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
    11. Mike Bohn and Farah Hannounn (2021-03-10). "Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cody Stamann booked again, this time for UFC Fight Night on May 1". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
    12. Giorgi Kokiashvili (2020-10-22). "The fight between Merab Dvalishvili and Cody Stamann failed". adjarasport.com. Retrieved 2021-01-10. (in Georgian)
    13. Staff (2021-01-15). "Merab Dvalishvili out, Andre Ewell takes short notice match on February 6 against Cody Stamann". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2021-01-16. (in Dutch)
    14. Staff (2021-02-11). "Poliana Botelho meets Ji Yeon Kim at UFC event on May 1". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2021-03-22. (in Dutch)
    15. Staff (2021-03-22). "Poliana Botelho meets Mayra Bueno Silva on May 1". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2021-03-22. (in Dutch)
    16. Farah Hannoun (2021-03-31). "UFC on ESPN 23: Mayra Bueno Silva out of Poliana Botelho fight due to back injury". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
    17. Staff (2021-03-31). "UFC books Luana Dread against Poliana Botelho for May 1st". globoesporte.globo.com. Retrieved 2021-04-01. (in Portuguese)
    18. Evelyn Rodrigues and Raphael Marinho (2021-03-18). "Randa Markos off UFC 260 for COVID-19 protocols and Luana Pinheiro waits for a new rival". globoesporte.globo.com. Retrieved 2021-03-18. (in Portuguese)
    19. Guilherme Cruz (2021-03-22). "Randa Markos vs. Luana Pinheiro set for May 1 UFC event". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
    20. Mike Heck and Damon Martin (2021-02-03). "Damon Jackson vs. T.J. Laramie in the works for UFC event on May 1". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
    21. Newswire (2021-03-31). "T.J. Laramie out of May 1 UFC bout against Damon Jackson". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
    22. Staff (2021-04-08). "Luke Sanders takes short notice fight in the UFC against Damon Jackson on May 1". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2021-04-09. (in Dutch)
    23. Kelvin Ramirez (2021-04-22). "Exclusive! Felipe Colares 'Cabocão' receives new opponent for UFC Vegas 25". tudosobremma.com. Retrieved 2021-04-22. (in Portuguese)
    24. Alex Behunin (2021-02-22). "UFC: Shamil Abdurakhimov returns against Augusto Sakai on May 1". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
    25. Marcelo Barone (2021-04-19). "Abdurakhimov leaves duel against Augusto Sakai, and Brazilian faces Jairzinho Rozenstruik in June". globoesporte.globo.com. Retrieved 2021-04-20. (in Portuguese)
    26. Farah Hannoun (2021-02-17). "Ion Cutelaba vs. Devin Clark added to UFC Fight Night on May 1". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
    27. Jay Anderson (2021-04-20). "With Devin Clark out, Ion Cutelaba now faces Dustin Jacoby at UFC Vegas 25". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
    28. Alexander K. Lee (2021-04-30). "UFC Vegas 25 weigh-in results: Dominick Reyes, Jiri Prochazka on point, one fighter misses by over four pounds". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
    29. Staff (2021-04-30). "Jonathan Pearce says he said no to overweight Gabriel Benitez, UFC on ESPN 23 fight off". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
    30. "UFC Fight Night: Reyes vs. Procházka". Ultimate Fighting Championship. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
    31. Staff (2021-05-02). "UFC on ESPN 23 bonuses: Jiri Prochazka double-dips for $100,000". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
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