UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Chimaev
UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Chimaev (also known as UFC Fight Night 187 and UFC on ESPN+ 45) is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on March 13, 2021 at a TBA location.[1]
UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Chimaev | ||||
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Information | ||||
Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
Date | March 13, 2021 | |||
Venue | TBD | |||
City | TBD | |||
Event chronology | ||||
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Background
A welterweight bout between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev is expected to serve as the main event.[2] The pairing has been scheduled as headliner and cancelled on two previous occasions due to COVID-19 related issues affecting both fighters. First at UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Neal in December of 2020, and again at UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny in January of this year.[3][4][5]
A bantamweight bout between Irwin Rivera and Ray Rodriguez was scheduled for the event.[6] However on January 7, news surfaced that Rivera was arrested for two counts of attempted murder in Palm Beach County, Florida after he allegedly stabbed his two sisters. He is currently being held in the Palm Beach County jail without bail.[7] He was replaced by Rani Yahya.[8]
Tagir Ulanbekov and returning veteran Matheus Nicolau were expected to meet in a flyweight bout at UFC 257, but Ulanbekov withdrew in late December due to undisclosed reasons.[9] The pairing was eventually rescheduled for this event.[10]
A heavyweight bout between Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Ciryl Gane was originally scheduled for this event.[11] However, they were moved to headline UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Gane after the original main event between former UFC Light Heavyweight Championship challenger Dominick Reyes and former Rizin Light Heavyweight Champion Jiří Procházka was cancelled due to undisclosed reasons.[12]
Guram Kutateladze was expected to face Don Madge in a lightweight bout at the event.[13] However, Kutateladze pulled out in early February due to a knee injury and a replacement is currently being sought.[14]
Fight card
Main card (ESPN+) | |||||||
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Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
Welterweight | Leon Edwards | vs. | Khamzat Chimaev |
Announced bouts
- Bantamweight bout: Davey Grant vs. Jonathan Martinez[16]
- Bantamweight bout: Ray Rodriguez vs. Rani Yahya[8]
- Welterweight bout: Jason Witt vs. Matthew Semelsberger[17]
- Women's Strawweight bout: Jinh Yu Frey vs. Gloria de Paula[18]
- Flyweight bout: Matheus Nicolau vs. Tagir Ulanbekov[10]
- Featherweight bout: Dan Ige vs. Ryan Hall[19]
- Middleweight bout: Eryk Anders vs. Darren Stewart[20]
- Featherweight bout: Ricardo Ramos vs. Zubaira Tukhugov[21]
- Lightweight bout: Don Madge vs. TBA[14]
- Featherweight bout: Charles Jourdain vs. Steve Garcia[22]
- Heavyweight bout: Ben Rothwell vs. Philipe Lins[23]
References
- Thomas Gerbasi (2021-01-20). "UFC announces two upcoming main-events". ufc.com. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
- Simon Head and John Morgan (2021-01-13). "Dana White confirms Leon Edwards vs. Khamzat Chimaev rebooked for March 13 main event". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Farah Hannoun and Nolan King (2020-12-08). "Irwin Rivera vs. Ray Rodriguez booked for UFC Fight Night on March 13". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
- Steven Marrocco (2021-01-07). "UFC fighter Irwin Rivera jailed on charges of first-degree premeditated murder". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
- Simon Head (2021-01-23). "UFC Fight Night: Ray Rodriguez vs. Rani Yahya set for UFC's March 13 card". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
- Guilherme Cruz (2020-12-19). "Matheus Nicolau re-signs with UFC, needs new opponent for UFC 257 after Tagir Ulanbekov withdraws". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-12-21.
- Raphael Marinho (2021-01-12). "Ultimate sends Matheus Nicolau vs. Tagir Ulanbekov to March 13". globoesporte.globo.com. Retrieved 2021-01-13. (in Portuguese)
- Jesse Holland (2021-01-13). "Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs Cyril Gane joins UFC Fight Night lineup on March 13". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
- Alexander Mookie (2021-01-30). "Reyes vs. Prochazka out, Rozenstruik vs. Gane in as UFC Fight Night headliner for Feb. 27". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
- Ishaan Bhattacharya (2021-01-17). "Guram Kutateladze Announced To Face Don Madge on Khamzat Chimaev vs Leon Edward card". essentiallysports.com. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
- Farah Hannoun (2021-02-08). "Guram Kutateladze says he's out of March 13 UFC fight vs. Don Madge due to knee injury". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
- "UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Chimaev". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
- DNA, MMA (2020-12-11). "Jonathan Martinez treft Davey Grant op 13 maart". MMA DNA. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
- DNA, MMA (2020-12-25). "Jason Witt treft Matthew Semelsberger op 13 maart". MMA DNA. Retrieved 2020-12-26.
- DNA, MMA (2020-12-31). "Jinh Yu Frey treft UFC debutante Gloria de Paula op 13 maart in Strawweight divisie". MMA DNA. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- Danny Segura (2021-01-14). "Dan Ige, Ryan Hall booked for UFC Fight Night on March 13". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
- Nolan King and Farah Hannoun (2021-01-15). "UFC books Eryk Anders vs. Darren Stewart for March 13 event". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
- DNA, MMA (2021-01-17). "Zubaira Tukhugov treft Ricardo Ramos op 13 maart". MMA DNA. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
- DNA, MMA (2021-01-17). "Charles Jourdain treft Steve Garcia Jr. tijdens UFC evenement op 13 maart 2021". MMA DNA. Retrieved 2021-01-17.
- Jay Pettry (2021-01-29). "Ben Rothwell takes on Philipe Lins at UFC Fight Night 187 on March 13". Sherdog.com. Retrieved 2021-01-29.