UFC on ESPN: Błachowicz vs. Rakić

UFC on ESPN: Błachowicz vs. Rakić (also known as UFC on ESPN 36 and UFC Vegas 54) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 14, 2022, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.[2]

UFC on ESPN: Błachowicz vs. Rakić
The poster for UFC on ESPN: Błachowicz vs. Rakić
Information
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateMay 14, 2022 (2022-05-14)
VenueUFC Apex
CityEnterprise, Nevada, United States
AttendanceNot announced[1]
Event chronology
UFC 274: Oliveira vs. Gaethje UFC on ESPN: Błachowicz vs. Rakić UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Vieira

Background

A light heavyweight bout between former KSW and UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jan Błachowicz and Aleksandar Rakić served as the event headliner.[3] They were previously scheduled to headline UFC on ESPN: Blaydes vs. Daukaus, but Błachowicz withdrew due to an injury and the bout was cancelled.[4]

A women's flyweight bout between former Strikeforce and UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion Miesha Tate and former Invicta FC Bantamweight Champion (also former UFC Women's Flyweight Championship challenger) Lauren Murphy was expected to take place at this event.[5] However, the bout was moved to UFC 276 due to unknown reasons.[6]

Ryan Spann and Ion Cuțelaba met in a light heavyweight bout at the event.[7] The pair was previously scheduled to fight at UFC Fight Night: Makhachev vs. Green, but Spann was pulled due to injury.[8]

A flyweight bout between Jake Hadley and Allan Nascimento took place at the event.[9] The pair was previously scheduled to meet at UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall, but the bout was cancelled due to Hadley's injury.[10]

Louis Smolka and Davey Grant were expected to meet in a bantamweight bout at UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Rozenstruik in March 2020, but the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11] They eventually met at this event.[12]

A lightweight bout between Michael Johnson and Alan Patrick was originally scheduled to take place one week prior at UFC 274, but it was pushed back to this event due to unknown reasons.[13]

Daniel Pineda and Jamall Emmers were expected to meet in a featherweight bout.[14] However, the bout was scrapped in late April due to unknown reasons.[15]

A flyweight bout between Tatsuro Taira and Carlos Candelario was expected to take place two weeks earlier at UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Vera.[16] However, it was scratched just hours before taking place due to Candelario suffering from an illness. They were then rescheduled for this event.[17]

Results
Main card (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Light Heavyweight Jan Błachowicz def. Aleksandar Rakić TKO (knee injury) 3 1:11
Light Heavyweight Ryan Spann def. Ion Cuțelaba Submission (guillotine choke) 1 2:22
Bantamweight Davey Grant def. Louis Smolka KO (punches) 3 0:49
Women's Flyweight Katlyn Chookagian def. Amanda Ribas Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Lightweight Manuel Torres def. Frank Camacho TKO (punches) 1 3:27
Flyweight Allan Nascimento def. Jake Hadley Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00
Preliminary card (ESPN / ESPN+)
Women's Flyweight Viviane Araújo def. Andrea Lee Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–27, 29–27) 3 5:00
Lightweight Michael Johnson def. Alan Patrick KO (punches) 2 3:22
Women's Strawweight Virna Jandiroba def. Angela Hill Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00
Flyweight Tatsuro Taira def. Carlos Candelario Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00
Middleweight Andre Petroski def. Nick Maximov Technical Submission (anaconda choke) 1 1:16

    [18]

    Bonus awards

    The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[19]

    • Fight of the Night: Katlyn Chookagian vs. Amanda Ribas
    • Performance of the Night: Ryan Spann and Manuel Torres

    See also

    References
    1. Mike Bohn (2022-05-15). "UFC on ESPN 36 post-event facts: Katlyn Chookagian's win comes with dubious record". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
    2. Staff (2022-03-27). "UFC Fight Night 209: Blachowicz vs. Rakic is now the main event". marca.com. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
    3. Marcel Dorff (2022-03-27). "UFC: Blachowicz vs. Rakic main event booked again, this time for May 14th". eurosport.nl. Retrieved 2022-03-28. (in Dutch)
    4. Steven Marrocco (2021-01-27). "Jan Blachowicz vs. Aleksandar Rakic scratched from UFC Columbus". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
    5. Evan Wheeler (2022-01-10). "Miesha Tate vs. Lauren Murphy booked for May". fightful.com. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
    6. Nolan King and Mike Bohn (2022-03-16). "Miesha Tate flyweight debut vs. Lauren Murphy shifts to UFC 276". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
    7. Marcel Dorff (2022-03-23). "UFC: Spann vs. Cutelaba rescheduled, this time for May 14 in Las Vegas". eurosport.nl. Retrieved 2022-03-23. (in Dutch)
    8. Danny Segura (2022-02-03). "Ion Cuțelaba vs. Ryan Spann off UFC Fight Night 202 on Feb. 26". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
    9. Marcel Dorff (2022-03-29). "UFC Hadley vs. Nascimento booked again, this time for May 14th". eurosport.nl. Retrieved 2022-03-30. (in Dutch)
    10. Cauley Quilty (2022-02-05). "Jake Hadley vs Allan Nascimento off UFC London". vmtv.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
    11. Nolan King and John Morgan (2020-03-15). "UFC postpones three events amid growing coronavirus outbreak". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
    12. Staff (2022-03-31). "Davey Grant vs. Louis Smolka joins UFC's May 14 lineup". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
    13. Michał Tkaczuk (2022-04-25). "Michael Johnson will get another chance in the UFC octagon". mmarocks.pl. Retrieved 2022-04-25. (in Polish)
    14. Steve Duncan (2022-02-02). "Jamall Emmers vs. Daniel Pineda added to UFC Fight Night on May 14". mma.uno. Retrieved 2022-02-02. (in Spanish)
    15. Nolan King and Farah Hannoun (2022-04-29). "Daniel Pineda vs. Jamall Emmers scrapped from UFC on ESPN 36". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
    16. Mike Heck (2022-02-16). "Tatsuro Taira set to make UFC debut against fellow newcomer Carlos Candelario on April 30". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
    17. Mike Heck (2022-04-30). "Tatsuro Taira vs. Carlos Candelario late scratch from UFC Vegas 53 fight card". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
    18. "UFC on ESPN: Błachowicz vs. Rakić". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
    19. Dan Hiergesell (2022-05-15). "UFC Vegas 54 bonuses: Manuel Torres leads $50K winners with debut knockout". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
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