UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Rodríguez

UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Rodríguez (also known as UFC Fight Night 197, UFC Vegas 42 and UFC on ESPN+ 55) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 13, 2021, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.[2]

UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Rodríguez
The poster for UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Rodríguez
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateNovember 13, 2021 (2021-11-13)
VenueUFC Apex
CityEnterprise, Nevada, United States
AttendanceNot announced[1]
Event chronology
UFC 268: Usman vs. Covington 2 UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Rodríguez UFC Fight Night: Vieira vs. Tate

Background

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On October 19, it was announced that the UFC sent a memo to fighters and their staff regarding policy changes to U.S. international travel requirements. Starting on November 8, foreign individuals looking to travel to the United States will need to be fully vaccinated with, and provide proof of, one of seven World Health Organization approved vaccines. They will also need a negative COVID-19 test from a 72-hour period prior to travel. The policy also applies to those crossing from Canada or Mexico, or those coming by ship. This was the first event under such requirement.[3][4]

A featherweight bout between former UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway and The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America featherweight winner Yair Rodríguez served as the event headliner.[5] The pairing was previously scheduled to headline UFC on ESPN: Makhachev vs. Moisés, but Holloway was pulled from the bout during the weeks leading up to that event due to injury.[6]

A light heavyweight bout between Kennedy Nzechukwu and Da Un Jung was originally expected to take place at UFC Fight Night: Ladd vs. Dumont, but it was pushed back to this event due to unknown reasons.[7]

A women's flyweight bout between former UFC Women's Flyweight Championship challenger Jessica Eye and Andrea Lee was scheduled for the event.[8] However, Eye pulled out of the bout in mid-October citing illness and was replaced by Cynthia Calvillo.[9]

Two middleweight bouts between Kevin Holland and Kyle Daukaus, as well as Eryk Anders and Roman Dolidze were scheduled for the event. However, Holland withdrew from his bout due to injury,[10] and Anders withdrew from the event for undisclosed reasons. Daukaus and Dolidze were then scheduled to face each other instead.[11] In turn, the bout was scrapped due to COVID-19 protocols related to Dolidze's camp.[12]

A lightweight bout between Marc Diakiese and Rafael Alves was rescheduled for the event.[13] The pair was previously expected to meet at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Till, but Alves pulled out of the fight in mid-August due to undisclosed reasons and the bout was scrapped.[14]

A featherweight bout between Lando Vannata and Tucker Lutz was expected to take place at this event.[15] However, Lutz was pulled from the bout and instead scheduled to face Pat Sabatini at UFC Fight Night: Vieira vs. Tate.[16]

Former interim UFC Light Heavyweight Championship challenger Ovince Saint Preux was expected to face Philipe Lins in a light heavyweight bout at the event.[17] In turn, Saint Preux withdrew from the fight for undisclosed reasons and the bout was cancelled.[18][19]

A light heavyweight bout between Danilo Marques and Jailton Almeida was scheduled for this event.[20] However, the bout was rescheduled due to Danilo getting injured and it is now expected to take place at UFC Fight Night 201.[21]

At the weigh-ins, two fighters missed weight for their respective bouts. Joel Álvarez weighed in at 157.5 pounds, one and a half pounds over the lightweight non-title fight limit. Liana Jojua weighed in at 128.5 pounds, two and a half pounds over the women's flyweight non-title fight limit. Both bouts proceeded at catchweight with Álvarez and Jojua each fined 30% of their purses, which went to their opponents Thiago Moisés and Cortney Casey respectively.[22]

With eight knockouts, this event tied the record for most knockouts in a single UFC event.[23]

Results

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Main card (ESPN+)
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Featherweight Max Holloway def. Yair Rodríguez Decision (unanimous) (49–46, 48–47, 48–47) 5 5:00
Heavyweight Marcos Rogério de Lima def. Ben Rothwell TKO (punches) 1 0:32
Women's Featherweight Felicia Spencer def. Leah Letson TKO (punches) 3 4:25
Welterweight Khaos Williams def. Miguel Baeza TKO (punches) 3 1:02
Bantamweight Song Yadong def. Julio Arce TKO (head kick and punches) 2 1:35
Preliminary card (ESPN+)
Catchweight (157.5 lb) Joel Álvarez def. Thiago Moisés TKO (elbows and punches) 1 3:01
Women's Flyweight Andrea Lee def. Cynthia Calvillo TKO (corner stoppage) 2 5:00
Featherweight Sean Woodson def. Collin Anglin TKO (punches to the body) 1 4:30
Catchweight (128.5 lb) Cortney Casey def. Liana Jojua Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00
Lightweight Rafael Alves def. Marc Diakiese Submission (guillotine choke) 1 1:48
Light Heavyweight Da Un Jung def. Kennedy Nzechukwu KO (elbows) 1 3:04

[24]

Bonus awards

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The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[25]

  • Fight of the Night: Max Holloway vs. Yair Rodríguez
  • Performance of the Night: Khaos Williams and Andrea Lee

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Mike Bohn (2021-11-14). "UFC Fight Night 197 post-event facts: Max Holloway first to crack 3,000 total UFC strikes landed". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
  2. ^ Nolan King (2021-09-23). "NAC approves six UFC events stretching from October through November". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-09-24.
  3. ^ Damon Martin (2021-10-19). "UFC alerts international fighters about new vaccination requirements to travel into the U.S. starting Nov. 8". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
  4. ^ Nolan King (2021-10-19). "UFC informs fighters of U.S. government's new COVID-19 vaccination travel policies". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
  5. ^ Nolan King (2021-08-03). "UFC targeting Max Holloway vs. Yair Rodriguez as Nov. 13 main event". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  6. ^ Carlos Contreras Legaspi (2021-06-17). "Max Holloway is injured and his fight against Yair Rodríguez is postponed". espndeportes.espn.com. Retrieved 2021-06-17. (in Spanish)
  7. ^ Staff (2021-10-07). "Fight pushed back". rotowire.com. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
  8. ^ Matthew Wells and Farah Hannoun (2021-08-26). "UFC targets Andrea Lee vs. Jessica Eye for Fight Night event on Nov. 13". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-08-26.
  9. ^ Farah Hannoun and John Morgan (2021-10-19). "With Jessica Eye out, Cynthia Calvillo steps in to face Andrea Lee at UFC Fight Night 197". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
  10. ^ Damon Martin (2021-10-27). "Kevin Holland injured, out of upcoming Kyle Daukaus rematch at UFC event on Nov. 13". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  11. ^ Nolan King and John Morgan (2021-10-29). "With Eryk Anders out, Roman Dolidze vs. Kyle Daukaus targeted for UFC Fight Night 197". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-10-30.
  12. ^ Damon Martin (2021-11-10). "Kyle Daukaus vs. Roman Dolidze scrapped from UFC Vegas 42 card". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
  13. ^ Marcel Dorff (2021-10-28). "Marc Diakiese vs. Rafael Alves rescheduled, this time for November 13 in Las Vegas". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2021-10-29. (in Dutch)
  14. ^ Steve Duncan (2021-10-28). "Marc Diakiese vs. Rafael Alves rescheduled for UFC Vegas 42". mma.uno. Retrieved 2021-10-29. (in Spanish)
  15. ^ Marcel Dorff (2021-08-26). "Lando Vannata meets Tucker Lutz at UFC event on November 13". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2021-08-28. (in Dutch)
  16. ^ Staff, Nolan King and John Morgan (2021-10-22). "Tucker Lutz pulled from Lando Vannata fight, Lutz vs. Pat Sabatini in the works". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-10-30.
  17. ^ Nolan King and John Morgan (2021-08-02). "Philipe Lins, Ovince Saint Preux verbally agree to fight at UFC event Nov. 13". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
  18. ^ Staff (2021-11-07). "Ovince Saint Preux out of UFC Fight Night 197 vs. Philipe Lins". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
  19. ^ Tristen Critchfield (2021-11-10). "Ovince St. Preux removed from UFC Fight Night 197, bout vs. Philipe Lins canceled". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
  20. ^ Guilherme Cruz (2021-09-17). "DWCS signee Jailton Almeida set for November UFC debut vs. Danilo Marques". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
  21. ^ Diego Ribas (2021-10-07). "Danilo Marques is injured and fight with Malhadinho in the UFC is postponed". agfight.com. Retrieved 2021-11-11. (in Portuguese)
  22. ^ Staff (2021-11-12). "UFC Fight Night 197 weigh-in results: Two fighters get 30 percent fines, but headliners clear". mmajunkie.usatoday. Retrieved 2021-11-12.
  23. ^ Staff (2021-11-14). "UFC Fight Night: Max Holloway beats Yair Rodriguez in five-round classic to cap night of highlight-reel moments". ESPN.
  24. ^ "UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Rodríguez". Ultimate Fighting Championship. 25 September 2021. Retrieved 2021-09-26.
  25. ^ Staff (2021-11-14). "UFC Fight Night 197 bonuses: Max Holloway, Yair Rodriguez an all-time obvious 'Fight of Night' winner". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-11-14.