UFC 252: Miocic vs. Cormier 3 was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 15, 2020, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.[3]

UFC 252: Miocic vs. Cormier 3
The poster for UFC 252: Miocic vs. Cormier 3
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateAugust 15, 2020 (2020-08-15)
VenueUFC Apex
CityEnterprise, Nevada, United States
AttendanceNone (behind closed doors)[1]
Buyrate500,000[2]
Event chronology
UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Oleinik UFC 252: Miocic vs. Cormier 3 UFC on ESPN: Munhoz vs. Edgar

Background

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The promotion was initially targeting another event to take place on this date at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland.[4] However, the organization confirmed in June that the Dublin card was indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]

Miocic (left) still holds the UFC heavyweight record of consecutive title defenses (three). Cormier (right) is the only fighter in UFC history to hold both the heavyweight and light heavyweight titles simultaneously.

A UFC Heavyweight Championship trilogy between current two-time champion Stipe Miocic and former champion Daniel Cormier (also former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion) took place as the event headliner.[6] The pairing first met at UFC 226 on July 7, 2018, where Cormier, as the light heavyweight champion, returned to heavyweight and captured the title by knocking Miocic out in the first round.[7] Their second meeting took place at UFC 241 on August 17, 2019, where Miocic regained the belt and got his revenge via fourth-round knockout.[8] Cormier also announced that he planned on retiring after this bout.[9]

A bantamweight bout between Pedro Munhoz and former UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar was briefly linked to UFC 251, but promotion officials elected to schedule the pairing four days later for UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige.[10] On July 6, it was announced that the bout between Munhoz and Edgar was scrapped after Munhoz tested positive for COVID-19.[11] They were later rescheduled for this event.[12] However, promotion officials then moved the pairing again to serve as the main event of UFC on ESPN: Munhoz vs. Edgar.[13]

A light heavyweight rematch between Magomed Ankalaev and Ion Cuțelaba was expected to take place at this event.[14] The pairing first met at UFC Fight Night: Benavidez vs. Figueiredo, where Ankalaev won via controversial knockout.[15] The bout was originally expected to take place at UFC 249, on its original April 18 date. However, Ankalaev was forced to pull out of the event due to travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.[16] Cuțelaba then pulled out on August 11, as a result of testing positive for COVID-19 and the bout was rescheduled for UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Rakić.[17]

Rogério Bontorin was expected to face promotional newcomer Manel Kape at the event. However, Bontorin pulled out of the fight on July 22 due to an ankle injury.[18] In turn, Kape announced his debut would be postponed and that he would not appear on the card either, also due to an ankle injury.[19]

A light heavyweight bout between Jorge Gonzalez and Ike Villanueva was expected to take place at the event.[20] However, due to alleged visa issues for Gonzalez, the pairing was pushed back and expected to take place a week later at UFC on ESPN: Munhoz vs. Edgar.[21]

At the weigh-ins, Herbert Burns and T.J. Brown missed weight for their respective featherweight bouts. Burns weighed in at 149.5 pounds, three and a half pounds over the non-title fight limit. Brown weighed in at 146.5 pounds, half a pound over the non-title fight limit. Both of their bouts proceeded at a catchweight and they were each fined 20% of their individual purses, which went to their opponents Daniel Pineda and Danny Chavez.[22]

Results

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Main card
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Heavyweight Stipe Miocic (c) def. Daniel Cormier Decision (unanimous) (49–46, 49–46, 48–47) 5 5:00 [a]
Bantamweight Marlon Vera def. Sean O’Malley TKO (elbows and punches) 1 4:40
Heavyweight Jairzinho Rozenstruik def. Junior dos Santos TKO (punches) 2 3:47
Catchweight (149.5 lb) Daniel Pineda def. Herbert Burns TKO (elbows) 2 4:37
Bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili def. John Dodson Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00
Preliminary Card (ESPN / ESPN+)
Lightweight Vinc Pichel def. Jim Miller Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–27) 3 5:00
Women's Strawweight Virna Jandiroba def. Felice Herrig Submission (armbar) 1 1:44
Catchweight (146.5 lb) Danny Chavez def. T.J. Brown Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Women's Strawweight Lívia Renata Souza def. Ashley Yoder Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27) 3 5:00
Early Preliminary Card (ESPN / ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass)
Heavyweight Chris Daukaus def. Parker Porter TKO (punches and knee) 1 4:28
Featherweight Kai Kamaka III def. Tony Kelley Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00

[23]

Bonus awards

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The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[24]

  • Fight of the Night: Kai Kamaka III vs. Tony Kelley
  • Performance of the Night: Daniel Pineda and Virna Jandiroba

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Andreas Hale (2020-08-15). "What time is UFC 252 today? Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier 3 PPV schedule & main card start time". sportingnews.com. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  2. ^ Damon Martin (2020-08-20). "UFC 252 reportedly sells 500,000 pay-per-views worldwide". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  3. ^ Troy L. Smith (2020-06-09). "Stipe Miocic vs Daniel Cormier 3 set for UFC 252 in August". cleveland.com. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  4. ^ Brian Campbell (2020-02-13). "UFC returning to Dublin for first time in five years with Fight Night event in August". cbssports.com. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
  5. ^ Newswire (2020-06-24). "UFC officially announces cancellation of Dublin show in August, plans return for 'near future'". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
  6. ^ Kevin Iole (2020-06-09). "Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier 3 to headline UFC 252 on Aug. 15". au.sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  7. ^ Adam Hill (2018-07-07). "Daniel Cormier ends Stipe Miocic's title reign at UFC 226". reviewjournal.com. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  8. ^ Dan Doherty (2019-08-18). "UFC 241 Results: Stipe Miocic reclaims title with unbelievable fourth-round KO". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  9. ^ Rob Goldberg (2020-06-09). "Daniel Cormier says he will retire after Stipe Miocic trilogy at UFC 252". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  10. ^ Ross Markey (2020-06-16). "Pedro Munhoz vs. Frankie Edgar moved to UFC event on July 15th". fightbookmma.com. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ Nick Baldwin (2020-07-12). "Edgar-Munhoz rescheduled for UFC 252". thescore.com. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  13. ^ Raphael Marinho (2020-07-27). "Ultimate reschedules Pedro Munhoz vs. Frankie Edgar for August 22 as the main event". globoesporte.globo.com. Retrieved 2020-07-27. (in Portuguese)
  14. ^ Staff (2020-06-12). "Rematch after controversial first game between Magomed Ankalaev and Ion Cutelaba at UFC 252". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2020-06-12. (in Dutch)
  15. ^ Damon Martin (2020-02-29). "UFC Norfolk results: Magomed Ankalaev earns KO over Ion Cutelaba in highly controversial stoppage". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  16. ^ Damon Martin (2020-03-05). "Ion Cutelaba vs. Magomed Ankalaev re-booked for UFC 249 following controversial stoppage". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
  17. ^ Steven Marrocco and Damon Martin (2020-08-11). "Ion Cuțelaba tests positive for COVID-19, rematch against Magomed Ankalaev bumped from UFC 252 to August 29 event". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
  18. ^ David Tees (2020-07-22). "Report: Rogerio Bontorin injured, off UFC 252". fightful.com. Retrieved 2020-07-28.
  19. ^ Mike Heck (2020-07-29). "Manel Kape out of UFC 252 after suffering ankle injury, eyes October for debut". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  20. ^ Nolan King (2020-07-29). "UFC debutant Jorge Gonzalez meets Ike Villanueva at UFC 252 in Las Vegas". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  21. ^ Connor Northrup (2020-08-13). "Ike Villanueva vs. Jorge Gonzalez moved to Aug. 22 UFC event". mymmanews.com. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  22. ^ Staff (2020-08-14). "UFC 252 weigh-in results: Title fight official, but two come in heavy". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  23. ^ "UFC 252: Miocic vs. Cormier 3". Ultimate Fighting Championship. 13 February 2020. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  24. ^ Stephie Haynes (2020-08-16). "UFC 252 post-fight bonuses: Jandiroba's armbar of Herrig earns POTN honors". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2020-08-16.