UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Romero

UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Romero (also known as UFC Fight Night 70) was a mixed martial arts event held on June 27, 2015, at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.[2]

UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Romero
The poster for UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Romero
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateJune 27, 2015 (2015-06-27)
VenueSeminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
CityHollywood, Florida
Attendance5,604[1]
Event chronology
UFC Fight Night: Jędrzejczyk vs. Penne UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Romero UFC 189: Mendes vs. McGregor

Background

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The event was originally expected to be held at the Ginásio do Ibirapuera in São Paulo, Brazil.[3] However, on May 15, the event was moved to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.[2]

The fight card was also expected to feature the lightweight and bantamweight finals of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 4.[4] This was the first time an Ultimate Fighter Brazil Finale event would be held outside of Brazil. However, as the event approached, several international fighters experienced travel restrictions due to technical issues within the Bureau of Consular Affairs division of the U.S. State Department which produces travel visas. The issue led to a major altering of the card as multiple fights were postponed.[5][6]

The lightweight and bantamweight finals of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 4, was instead contested on August 1, 2015 at UFC 190.[6][7]

A welterweight bout between Rick Story and Erick Silva was expected to serve as the main event.[8] However, after the initial venue change, the bout was moved to a co-featured slot and the event was headlined by a middleweight bout between former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida and 2000 Summer Olympics silver medalist in freestyle wrestling Yoel Romero.[2] Also affected by the visa issues, Silva was pulled from the event and his bout against Story was rescheduled for UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Oliveira.[6][7][9]

A light heavyweight bout between Nikita Krylov and Marcos Rogério de Lima was briefly linked to UFC Fight Night 69. However, the pairing was expected to take place at this event.[10] Subsequently, the pairing was postponed again as de Lima faced visa issues.[7]

A featherweight bout between Rani Yahya and Masanori Kanehara also planned for the event was shifted to the UFC Fight Night 71 event on July 15, 2015.[6][11]

Chas Skelly was briefly linked to a bout with Hacran Dias at the event. However, Skelly was pulled from the card due to illness and was replaced by Levan Makashvili.[12]

A welterweight bout between Viscardi Andrade and Andreas Ståhl was scrapped as Ståhl suffered an injury in the week leading up to the event.[11]

Promotional newcomer Lewis Gonzalez missed weight on his first attempt at the weigh-ins, coming in 3 lb overweight at 174 lb. After having made no attempts to cut further, he was fined 20 percent of his fight purse, which went to Leandro Silva.[13]

In a controversial post-fight interview, Yoel Romero seemed to express disagreement with the Obergefell v. Hodges supreme court ruling. However, during the post fight press conference and subsequent interviews the following day, Romero denied referring to gay marriage and apologized for his comments while maintaining that they were misunderstood and taken out of context.[14]

Results

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Main Card (Fox Sports 1)
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Middleweight Yoel Romero def. Lyoto Machida KO (elbows) 3 1:38
Welterweight Lorenz Larkin def. Santiago Ponzinibbio TKO (punches) 2 3:07
Middleweight Antônio Carlos Júnior def. Eddie Gordon Submission (rear-naked choke) 3 4:37
Middleweight Thiago Santos def. Steve Bossé KO (head kick) 1 0:29
Featherweight Hacran Dias def. Levan Makashvili Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1)
Welterweight Alex Oliveira def. Joe Merritt Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00
Catchweight (174 lb) Leandro Silva def. Lewis Gonzalez Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–27) 3 5:00
Welterweight Tony Sims def. Steve Montgomery TKO (punches) 1 2:43
Bantamweight Sirwan Kakai def. Danny Martinez Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00

[15]

Bonus awards

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The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses:[16]

  • Fight of the Night: Lorenz Larkin vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
  • Performance of the Night: Yoel Romero and Thiago Santos

Reported payout

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The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the Florida State Boxing Commission. It does not include sponsor money or "locker room" bonuses often given by the UFC and also do not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses.[17]

  • Yoel Romero: $66,000 ($33,000 win bonus) def. Lyoto Machida: $200,000
  • Lorenz Larkin: $66,000 ($33,000 win bonus) def. Santiago Ponzinibbio: $10,000
  • Antônio Carlos Júnior: $34,000 ($17,000 win bonus) def. Eddie Gordon: $15,000
  • Thiago Santos: $32,000 ($16,000 win bonus) def. Steve Bossé: $10,000
  • Hacran Dias: $26,000 ($13,000 win bonus) def. Levan Makasvili: $12,000
  • Alex Oliveira: $24,000 ($12,000 win bonus) def. Joe Merritt: $10,000
  • Leandro Silva: $28,000 ($13,000 win bonus) def. Lewis Gonzalez: $8,000 ^
  • Tony Sims: $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus) def. Steve Montgomery: $10,000
  • Sirwan Kakai: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus) def. Danny Martinez: $12,000

^ Gonzalez was fined $2,000, 20 percent of his purse for failing to make the required weight for his fight with Leandro Silva. That money was issued to Silva, officials confirmed.[17]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Staff (2015-06-28). "UFC Fight Night 70 draws sellout crowd of 5,604". MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved 2015-06-28.
  2. ^ a b c Thomas Gerbasi (2015-05-15). "Summer UFC Events Secured for Florida and Nevada". ufc.com. Retrieved 2015-05-15.
  3. ^ Guilherme Cruz (2015-04-14). "TUF: Brazil 4 Finale set for June 27 in Sao Paulo". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  4. ^ Guilherme Cruz (2015-05-15). "Lyoto Machida vs. Yoel Romero set as new main event for TUF Brazil: 4 Finale in Miami". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2015-05-15.
  5. ^ Mike Bohn (2015-06-18). "Visa issues could force several Brazilian fighters out of UFC Fight Night 70". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
  6. ^ a b c d Tristen Critchfield (2015-06-19). "UFC Fight Night loses Silva-Story, 'TUF: Brazil 4' Finals from June 27 Card in Florida". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
  7. ^ a b c Guilherme Cruz (2015-06-19). "Visa issues forces changes at UFC Fight Night 70, UFC 190". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
  8. ^ Sean Bio (April 22, 2015). "Rick Story vs. Erick Silva headlines The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 4 Finale in Sao Paulo". cagepages.com. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
  9. ^ Ariel Helwani (2015-06-24). "Rick Story vs. Erick Silva to serve as UFC Saskatoon co-main event; other fights added to card". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2015-06-24.
  10. ^ Staff (2015-06-09). "Nikita Krylov vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima moved to UFC Fight Night 70". themmareport.com. Retrieved 2015-06-09.
  11. ^ a b Staff (2015-06-19). "Visa issues force massive shuffling at next week's UFC Fight Night 70 event". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
  12. ^ Staff (2015-06-01). "Levan Makashvili replaces Chas Skelly at UFC Fight Night 70 in Florida". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  13. ^ Jeffrey Harris (2015-06-26). "UFC Fight Night 70 weigh-in results". 411mania.com. Retrieved 2015-06-27.
  14. ^ Brett Okamoto (2015-06-28). "Yoel Romero apologizes but denies making anti-gay remark after KO win". ESPN. Retrieved 2015-06-28.
  15. ^ "UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Romero". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
  16. ^ Staff (2015-06-28). "UFC Fight Night 70 bonuses: Yoel Romero's elbows bring him $50,000". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2015-06-28.
  17. ^ a b Staff (2015-06-29). "UFC Fight Night 70 salaries: Despite loss, Lyoto Machida earns top payday". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2015-06-29.