UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige

UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige (also known as UFC on ESPN 13 and UFC Fight Island 1) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 16, 2020 at the du Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.[2]

UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige
The poster for UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige.
Information
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateJuly 16, 2020 (2020-07-16)
Venuedu Forum
CityAbu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
AttendanceNone (behind closed doors)[1]
Event chronology
UFC 251: Usman vs. Masvidal UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2

Background

This event was the second of four UFC Fight Island events scheduled to take place on Yas Island in July 2020, following UFC 251, as part of a plan to facilitate the hosting of events involving fighters impacted by U.S. travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]

Without fans in attendance, the promotion didn't have to worry about the local timing of the event, so it proceeded with normal timing for prime time hours on the east coast of North America. The main card began at 6:00 am (July 16) local time in Abu Dhabi, and a full preliminary card began at approximately 3:00 am Gulf Standard Time.[3]

A featherweight bout between Calvin Kattar and Dan Ige served as the event headliner.[4]

A middleweight bout between John Phillips and Duško Todorović was expected to take place at UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs. Edwards. However, the event was the first of five to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the bout was moved to Cage Warriors 113 (as the English organization's president decided to help some of the scheduled bouts to happen in his promotion's event scheduled for March 20).[5][6] In turn, Todorović pulled out due to other travel restrictions in the region.[7] They were then expected to meet at this event.[8] On July 8, Todorović pulled out once again, this time due to a potential medical issue.[9] He was replaced by promotional newcomer Khamzat Chimaev.[10]

A bantamweight bout between Pedro Munhoz and former UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar was briefly linked to UFC 251, four days earlier. However, promotion officials elected to schedule the pairing for this event.[11] On July 6, it was announced that the bout between Munhoz and Edgar was scrapped due to Munhoz testing positive for COVID-19.[12] They were rescheduled for UFC 252.[13]

A light heavyweight bout between Vinicius Moreira and Modestas Bukauskas was scheduled for the event, along with another bout between Anderson dos Santos and Jack Shore at bantamweight. However, Moreira and dos Santos both tested positive for COVID-19 on July 3 and were removed from the event.[14] They were replaced by Andreas Michailidis and Aaron Phillips respectively.[15][16]

A women's strawweight bout between former Invicta FC and UFC Women's Strawweight Champion Carla Esparza and Marina Rodriguez was scheduled for the event. However, a Rodriguez cornerman tested positive for COVID-19 and the bout was cancelled. Rodriguez had her test come back negative, but the bout was scrapped due to precautionary reasons.[17] They were rescheduled for UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till on July 26.[18]

A light heavyweight bout between Timo Feucht and Kenneth Bergh was scheduled for the event. However, one day after the bout was announced, Feucht was removed from the event due to unknown reasons and was replaced by Jorge Gonzalez.[19] It was later announced that Feucht was removed due to past Neo-Nazi ties, including a January 2016 attack in the Connewitz district of Leipzig for which he was arrested.[20] In turn, the bout was cancelled on the day of the weigh-ins as Bergh had issues during his weight cut.[21]

At the weigh-ins, Abdul Razak Alhassan and Chris Fishgold missed weight for their respective bouts. Alhassan weighed in at 174 pounds, three pounds over the welterweight non-title fight limit. Fishgold weighed in at 149 pounds, three pounds over the featherweight non-title fight limit. Both their bouts proceeded at a catchweight and they were respectively fined 20% of their individual purses, which went to their opponents Mounir Lazzez and Jared Gordon.[22]

Results
Main card (ESPN / ESPN+)
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Featherweight Calvin Kattar def. Dan Ige Decision (unanimous) (49–46, 49–46, 48–47) 5 5:00
Flyweight Tim Elliott def. Ryan Benoit Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Featherweight Jimmie Rivera def. Cody Stamann Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) 3 5:00
Women's Flyweight Taila Santos def. Molly McCann Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–26) 3 5:00
Catchweight (174 lb) Mounir Lazzez def. Abdul Razak Alhassan Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) 3 5:00
Preliminary Card (ESPN / ESPN+)
Middleweight Khamzat Chimaev def. John Phillips Submission (D'Arce choke) 2 1:12
Featherweight Lerone Murphy def. Ricardo Ramos TKO (punches) 1 4:18
Light Heavyweight Modestas Bukauskas def. Andreas Michailidis TKO (elbows) 1 5:00
Catchweight (149 lb) Jared Gordon def. Chris Fishgold Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 30–26, 30–26) 3 5:00
Women's Flyweight Liana Jojua def. Diana Belbiţă Submission (armbar) 1 2:47
Bantamweight Jack Shore def. Aaron Phillips Submission (rear-naked choke) 2 2:29

    [23]

    Bonus awards

    The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.

    • Fight of the Night: Mounir Lazzez vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan1
    • Performance of the Night: Khamzat Chimaev, Lerone Murphy and Modestas Bukauskas
    ^ 1. Abdul Razak Alhassan was disqualified for the Fight of the Night bonus due to missing weight, as a result a third Performance of the Night bonus was awarded.[24]

    See also

    References
    1. Alan Dawson (2020-07-15). "The Kattar vs. Ige main event for the UFC's next 'Fight Island' card is so good it could be the Fight of the Year, an analyst said". businessinsideraustralia.com.au. Retrieved 2020-07-17.
    2. Farah Hannoun (2020-06-09). "UFC 'Fight Island' is ... Yas Island, Abu Dhabi". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
    3. Jeff Wagenheim (2020-06-11). "What we know and don't know about 'Fight Island'". espn.com. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
    4. Brett Okamoto (2020-06-15). "Calvin Kattar, Dan Ige to headline UFC Fight Night on July 15 at Fight Island". espn.com. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
    5. Simon Head (2020-03-15). "Graham Boylan hopes to save some UFC on ESPN+ 29 fights in London with Cage Warriors 113". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
    6. Simon Head (2020-03-16). "UFC London's John Phillips vs. Dusko Todorovic added to Cage Warriors 113". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
    7. Simon Head (2020-03-18). "UFC's Bartosz Fabinski, Darren Stewart headline reshuffled Cage Warriors 113 card". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
    8. Staff (2020-06-18). "UFC Fight Island: Welsh pair Brett Johns and John Phillips added to series". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
    9. John Morgan (2020-07-08). "Dusko Todorovic out at UFC on ESPN 13; John Phillips needs new opponent". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
    10. Nolan King and John Morgan (2020-07-08). "Khamzat Chimaev tapped as replacement to fight John Phillips at UFC on ESPN 13". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
    11. Ross Markey (2020-06-16). "Pedro Munhoz vs. Frankie Edgar moved to UFC event on July 15th". fightbookmma.com. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
    12. Guilherme Cruz (2020-07-06). "Pedro Munhoz tests positive for COVID-19, pulled from UFC 'Fight Island' bout with Frankie Edgar". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
    13. Nick Baldwin (2020-07-12). "Edgar-Munhoz rescheduled for UFC 252". thescore.com. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
    14. Tudor Leonte (2020-07-03). "Anderson dos Santos, Vinicius Moreira out of July 15 "Fight Island" card after positive COVID-19 tests". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
    15. Ross Markey (2020-07-04). "Modestas Bukauskas remains on UFC Fight Island card, meets Andreas Michailidis on short-notice". fightbookmma.com. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
    16. Nolan King and Simon Head (2020-07-04). "Aaron Phillips set for UFC return, faces Jack Shore on 'Fight Island'". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
    17. Danny Segura and Nolan King (2020-07-03). "Marina Rodriguez vs. Carla Esparza removed from July 15 UFC event after positive COVID-19 test". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
    18. Staff (2020-07-05). "Carla Esparza vs. Marina Rodriguez reset for July 25 UFC show in Abu Dhabi". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
    19. Staff (2020-07-10). "Jorge Gonzalez replaces Timo Feucht against Kenneth Bergh on July 15 in Abu Dhabi". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2020-07-10. (in Dutch)
    20. Guilherme Cruz and Damon Martin (2020-07-11). "UFC rescinds offer to Timo Feucht for Fight Island bout over alleged past Neo-Nazi ties". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
    21. Farah Hannoun (2020-07-14). "Weight cut issues for Kenneth Bergh force cancellation of Jorge Gonzalez fight at UFC on ESPN 13". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
    22. Alexander K. Lee (2020-07-14). "UFC on ESPN 13 weigh-in results: Two miss weight, one fight canceled". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
    23. "UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
    24. Dave Doyle (2020-07-16). "UFC on ESPN 13 bonuses: Weight miss costs Abdul Razak Alhassan $50K for 'Fight of the Night'". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
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