Canceled UFC event on April 25, 2020
UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira | ||||
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![]() The poster for UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira | ||||
Information | ||||
Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
Date | April 25, 2020 (cancelled) | |||
Venue | Pinnacle Bank Arena | |||
City | Lincoln, Nebraska, United States | |||
Event chronology | ||||
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UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira (also known as UFC Fight Night 173 and UFC on ESPN+ 31) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship originally planned to take place on April 25, 2020 at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States.[1] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, UFC president Dana White announced on April 9 that starting with the original UFC 249, all future events were indefinitely postponed.[2] The event was officially cancelled on April 20.[3]
Background
A light heavyweight bout between former UFC Light Heavyweight Championship challengers Anthony Smith and Glover Teixeira was expected to serve as the event headliner.[1]
A lightweight bout between Christos Giagos and Alan Patrick was scheduled for the event. However, Giagos pulled out of the fight on March 19 citing injury and was replaced by Frank Camacho.[4]
A light heavyweight bout between former interim title challenger Ovince Saint Preux and Shamil Gamzatov was scheduled for the event. However, Gamzatov was forced to pull out of the event due to travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] He was replaced by Ion Cuțelaba.[6]
A heavyweight bout between Rodrigo Nascimento and Don’Tale Mayes was expected to take place at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris. However, the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7] The pairing was rescheduled for this event.[8]
Also due to travel restrictions, some Brazilian fighters were unable to compete due to visa issues on the original date – Ariane Carnelossi (who was expected to face Mackenzie Dern in a women's strawweight bout) and Raphael Pessoa (who was expected to face Alexander Romanov in a heavyweight bout).[9] Carnelossi was replaced by Hannah Cifers.[10]
Cancelled fight card
Fight card | |||||||
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Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
Light Heavyweight | Anthony Smith | vs. | Glover Teixeira | [a] | |||
Featherweight | Billy Quarantillo | vs. | Gavin Tucker | ||||
Women's Flyweight | Cynthia Calvillo | vs. | Antonina Shevchenko | ||||
Lightweight | Evan Dunham | vs. | Michael Johnson | [b] | |||
Lightweight | Roosevelt Roberts | vs. | Matt Frevola | ||||
Middleweight | Andrew Sanchez | vs. | Zak Cummings | ||||
Welterweight | Anthony Rocco Martin | vs. | David Zawada | ||||
Featherweight | Peter Barrett | vs. | Danny Henry | ||||
Lightweight | Alan Patrick | vs. | Frank Camacho | ||||
Light Heavyweight | Ovince Saint Preux | vs. | Ion Cuțelaba | [c] | |||
Heavyweight | Rodrigo Nascimento | vs. | Don’Tale Mayes | [d] | |||
Middleweight | Karl Roberson | vs. | Marvin Vettori | [e] | |||
Women's Strawweight | Mackenzie Dern | vs. | Hannah Cifers |
- ^ Moved to the new UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira.[11]
- ^ Johnson later booked to face Khama Worthy at UFC 249.[12]
- ^ Saint Preux later booked to face Ben Rothwell at the new UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira.[11]
- ^ Moved to UFC on ESPN: Overeem vs. Harris.[11]
- ^ Moved to the new UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira.[11]
See also
References
- ^ a b Brett Okamoto (2020-01-24). "Smith-Teixeira to top UFC Fight Night card in April". espn.com. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
- ^ Damon Martin (2020-04-09). "UFC 249, upcoming events postponed due to coronavirus pandemic, Dana White promises 'Fight Island' will proceed". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
- ^ Steven Marrocco (2020-04-20). "UFC officially cancels four events due to coronavirus pandemic". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
- ^ Staff (2020-03-19). "Frank Camacho replaces Christos Giagos against Alan Patrick at UFC Lincoln". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2020-03-19. (in Dutch)
- ^ Nolan King (2020-04-04). "Shamil Gamzatov out of UFC on ESPN+ 31 fight vs. Ovince Saint Preux". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
- ^ Guilherme Cruz and Damon Martin (2020-04-06). "Ion Cutelaba vs. Ovince Saint Preux targeted for UFC Fight Night card on April 25". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
- ^ Nolan King and John Morgan (2020-03-15). "UFC postpones three events amid growing coronavirus outbreak". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
- ^ Staff (2020-04-09). "Rodrigo Nascimiento vs. Don'Tale Mayes added to UFC Fight Night: Smith vs Teixeira". explica.co. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
- ^ Staff (2020-04-09). "Jose Aldo among Brazilians out of UFC 250 and beyond because of visa issues during pandemic". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
- ^ Damon Martin and Steven Marrocco (2020-04-09). "Mackenzie Dern now faces Hannah Cifers at UFC Fight Night on April 25". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
- ^ a b c d Nolan King (2020-05-01). "Dana White announces full list of UFC matchups for May 13, May 16 events in Florida". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
- ^ Alexander K. Lee (2020-04-06). "UFC 249 fight card announced, Andrade vs. Namajunas 2 still co-headlines". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
- ^ "UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2020-02-12.