UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till
UFC mixed martial arts event in 2020
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UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till (also known as UFC on ESPN 14 and UFC Fight Island 3) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 26, 2020 at the du Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.[2]
| UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
The poster for UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | July 26, 2020 | |||
| Venue | du Forum | |||
| City | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |||
| Attendance | None (behind closed doors)[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
This event was the fourth and final UFC Fight Island event that took place on Yas Island, following UFC 251, UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige and UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2, 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]
A middleweight bout between former UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker (also The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes welterweight winner) and former UFC Welterweight Championship challenger Darren Till served as the event headliner.[3] They were previously linked to an event in Dublin, Ireland that was to take place in August 2020.[4]
The event also included fighters that were pulled from other events previously cancelled, as well as the following bouts:
- A light heavyweight bout between the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Maurício Rua (also 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Champion) and Antônio Rogério Nogueira.[5] The pairing previously met at PRIDE Critical Countdown 2005 and UFC 190, with Rua winning both fights.[6] The bout was scheduled for the original May 9 date of UFC 250 that later became UFC 249, but cancelled due to the relocation of the event.[7] Nogueira announced that he planned to retire after this bout.[8]
- A women's bantamweight bout between former title challenger Bethe Correia and Pannie Kianzad.[9] This bout was also scheduled for the original May 9 date of UFC 250 and removed for the same reasons as the fight above it.[7]
- A welterweight bout between Danny Roberts and Nicolas Dalby.[10] They were scheduled to meet at UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs. Edwards, but the event was the first of five to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11] However, Roberts was forced off the card due to injury and replaced by returning veteran Jesse Ronson.[12]
- A heavyweight bout between Tom Aspinall and Jake Collier.[10] This fight was also scheduled for UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs. Edwards and removed for the same reasons as the previous one.[11]
A welterweight bout between Ramazan Emeev and Shavkat Rakhmonov was expected to take place at the event. However, Rakhmonov was forced to withdraw due to injury on July 2 and replaced by Niklas Stolze.[13][14]
Umar Nurmagomedov was expected to face Nathaniel Wood in a bantamweight bout at this event. However, he pulled out on July 3 after his uncle, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov (also the father of former UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov), died from complications related to COVID-19.[15] He was replaced by promotional newcomer John Castañeda.[16]
A women's strawweight bout between former Invicta FC and UFC Women's Strawweight Champion Carla Esparza and Marina Rodriguez was scheduled for UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige nine days earlier. 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 this event.[18]
Justin Tafa was expected to face Raphael Pessoa in a heavyweight bout at this event. However, he pulled out on July 15 for unknown reasons and was replaced by Tanner Boser.[19]
At the weigh-ins, Francisco Trinaldo weighed in at 160 pounds, four pounds over the lightweight non-title fight limit. His bout proceeded at a catchweight and he was fined 30% of his purse, which went to his opponent Jai Herbert.[20]
Results
| Main card (ESPN / ESPN+) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Middleweight | Robert Whittaker | def. | Darren Till | Decision (unanimous) (48–47, 48–47, 48–47) | 5 | 5:00 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Maurício Rua | def. | Antônio Rogério Nogueira | Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Heavyweight | Fabrício Werdum | def. | Alexander Gustafsson | Submission (armbar) | 1 | 2:30 | |
| Women's Strawweight | Carla Esparza | def. | Marina Rodriguez | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Paul Craig | def. | Gadzhimurad Antigulov | Submission (triangle choke) | 1 | 2:06 | |
| Welterweight | Alex Oliveira | def. | Peter Sobotta | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Khamzat Chimaev | def. | Rhys McKee | TKO (punches) | 1 | 3:09 | |
| Preliminary Card (ESPN / ESPN+) | |||||||
| Catchweight (160 lb) | Francisco Trinaldo | def. | Jai Herbert | TKO (punch) | 3 | 1:30 | |
| Welterweight | Jesse Ronson | vs. | Nicolas Dalby | No Contest (overturned) | 1 | 2:48 | [a] |
| Heavyweight | Tom Aspinall | def. | Jake Collier | TKO (knee and punches) | 1 | 0:45 | |
| Featherweight | Movsar Evloev | def. | Mike Grundy | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Heavyweight | Tanner Boser | def. | Raphael Pessoa | TKO (punches) | 2 | 2:36 | |
| Women's Bantamweight | Pannie Kianzad | def. | Bethe Correia | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Ramazan Emeev | def. | Niklas Stolze | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Nathaniel Wood | def. | John Castañeda | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
- Originally a submission (rear-naked choke) win for Ronson; overturned after he tested positive for metandienone.[21]
Bonus awards
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[23]
- Fight of the Night: No bonus awarded.
- Performance of the Night: Fabrício Werdum, Paul Craig, Khamzat Chimaev, Jesse Ronson, Tom Aspinall and Tanner Boser
Records set
The event's 15 bouts tied UFC 2 for the most on a single card in UFC history.[24] UFC 259, UFC 283, UFC 286 and UFC Fight Night: Aspinall vs. Tybura later had fifteen bouts as well.
Khamzat Chimaev broke the record for quickest turnaround between UFC wins at 10 days (not including one-night-tournaments during the UFC's early days).[25]
Aftermath
On November 18, it was announced by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) that Jesse Ronson was suspended for 20 months after he tested positive for metandienone in an out-of-competition test conducted on July 22 and didn't disclose his use of the substance in his onboarding documents prior to re-joining the UFC. His suspension is retroactive to the test failure, meaning he'll be cleared to compete on March 22, 2022. They also announced that Ronson's victory was overturned to a no contest due to the violation.[21]
