Mixed martial arts event in 2023
UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Dvalishvili (also known as UFC Fight Night 221 , UFC on ESPN+ 79 ) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 11, 2023, at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Paradise, Nevada part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area , United States.[ 2] [ 3]
Background
The venue was originally known as The Joint (part of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino ) and held several UFC events in the early 2000s. This event marked the promotion's first visit to the venue after it was rebranded and the first since The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson Finale in December 2012.[ 2]
A light heavyweight bout between former UFC Light Heavyweight Championship challenger Anthony Smith and Jamahal Hill was expected to headline the event.[ 4] However, in mid-December, Hill was pulled from the contest in order to headline UFC 283 against former champion Glover Teixeira for the vacant title.[ 5] Smith was later scheduled to face Johnny Walker on May 13 at UFC on ABC: Rozenstruik vs. Almeida .[ 6]
A bantamweight bout between former UFC Bantamweight Champion Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili headlined the event.[ 7]
A bantamweight bout between Mario Bautista and Guido Cannetti took place at the event.[ 8] They were previously scheduled to meet at UFC on ESPN: Barboza vs. Chikadze , but Bautista pulled out after testing positive for COVID-19 .[ 9]
A middleweight bout between Makhmud Muradov and Abusupiyan Magomedov was expected to take place at the event.[ 10] They were previously scheduled to meet at UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Tuivasa but Muradov withdrew due to injury.[ 11] At the end of February, it was announced that Muradov had pulled out of the bout again.[ 12]
A bantamweight bout between Raphael Assunção and Kyler Phillips was scheduled for the event.[ 13] However, Phillips withdrew from the event for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Davey Grant .[ 14]
A light heavyweight bout between Nikita Krylov and former LFA Light Heavyweight Champion Ryan Spann was originally expected to headline UFC Fight Night: Muniz vs. Allen .[ 15] However, the headliner was cancelled during the broadcast as Krylov had fallen ill. The pair was rescheduled for this event at a catchweight of 215 pounds.[ 16] [ 17]
A welterweight bout between Carlston Harris and Abubakar Nurmagomedov was expected to take place at the event.[ 18] However, Nurmagomedov withdrew from the bout due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Jared Gooden .[ 19] At the weigh-ins, Gooden weighed in at 177 pounds, six pounds over the welterweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and Gooden was fined 30% of his purse, which went to Harris.[ 20]
Also at the weigh-ins, Ricardo Ramos weighed in at 154 pounds, eight pounds over the featherweight non-title fight limit. As a result, his bout with Austin Lingo was cancelled.[ 20]
Results
Main card (ESPN+)
Weight class
Method
Round
Time
Notes
Bantamweight
Merab Dvalishvili
def.
Petr Yan
Decision (unanimous) (50–45, 50–45, 50–45)
5
5:00
Heavyweight
Alexander Volkov
def.
Alexander Romanov
TKO (punches)
1
2:16
Catchweight (215 lb)
Nikita Krylov
def.
Ryan Spann
Submission (triangle choke)
1
3:38
Bantamweight
Jonathan Martinez
def.
Said Nurmagomedov
Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)
3
5:00
Bantamweight
Mario Bautista
def.
Guido Cannetti
Submission (rear-naked choke)
1
3:18
Light Heavyweight
Vitor Petrino
def.
Anton Turkalj
Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 30–27, 30–27)
3
5:00
Preliminary card (ESPN+)
Heavyweight
Karl Williams
def.
Łukasz Brzeski
Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 30–26, 30–27)
3
5:00
Bantamweight
Davey Grant
def.
Raphael Assunção
Technical Submission (inverted triangle choke)
3
4:43
[ a]
Middleweight
Josh Fremd
def.
Sedriques Dumas
Submission (guillotine choke)
2
3:00
Bantamweight
Victor Henry
def.
Tony Gravely
Decision (split) (30–27, 28–29, 29–28)
3
5:00
Women's Flyweight
Ariane Lipski
def.
JJ Aldrich
Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)
3
5:00
Flyweight
Bruno Gustavo da Silva
def.
Tyson Nam
Technical Submission (rear-naked choke)
2
1:23
Catchweight (177 lb)
Carlston Harris
def.
Jared Gooden
Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)
3
5:00
^ Grant was deducted 1 point in round 3 due to a fence grab.
[ 21]
Bonus awards
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[ 22]
Fight of the Night: Vitor Petrino vs. Anton Turkalj
Performance of the Night: Davey Grant and Bruno Gustavo da Silva
Aftermath
This event holds the record for most takedowns landed in UFC history with 59.[ 23]
See also
References
Upcoming events are in italics
Flagship events Fight Nights (on Spike TV) UFC on Versus/UFC Live UFC on Fox UFC on FX UFC on Fuel TV Fight Nights (on FS1, FS2, FXX, or UFC Fight Pass) UFC on ESPN (or ESPN2) Fight Nights (on ESPN+) UFC on ABC The Ultimate Fighter Finales