UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Usman

Summary

UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Usman (also known as UFC Fight Night 129) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on May 19, 2018, at Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile.[2]

UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Usman
The poster for UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Usman
Information
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateMay 19, 2018 (2018-05-19)
VenueMovistar Arena
CitySantiago, Chile
Attendance11,082[1]
Event chronology
UFC 224: Nunes vs. Pennington UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Usman UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Till

Background edit

The event marked the promotion's first visit to Chile.[3]

A welterweight bout between The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians welterweight winner Kamaru Usman and Santiago Ponzinibbio was expected to serve as the event headliner.[4] However, Ponzinibbio pulled out on April 21 due to injury.[5] He was replaced by former UFC Welterweight and Middleweight Championship challenger Demian Maia.[6]

A flyweight bout between former UFC Flyweight Championship challenger Ray Borg and Brandon Moreno was originally expected to take place at UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Medeiros. However, due to a minor injury sustained by Moreno, the pairing was postponed and rescheduled to take place at UFC 223.[7] The bout was delayed again, after Borg had issues related to glass shards in his eye as a result of the former UFC Featherweight and Lightweight Champion Conor McGregor and crew bus melee.[8] The pairing was scheduled again and was expected to take place at this event.[9] However, Borg withdrew from the bout to take care of his child, who required brain surgery.[10] He was replaced by Alexandre Pantoja.[11]

A light heavyweight bout between former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Maurício Rua and former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir was expected to take place at this event. However, it was reported on April 13, 2018, that Oezdemir was pulled from the event due to alleged visa issues stemming from a previous legal transgression, restricting his travel to Chile.[12] The pairing was left intact and rescheduled for July 22, 2018, at UFC Fight Night: Volkan vs. Shogun.[13]

Results edit

Main card (Fox Sports 1)
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Welterweight Kamaru Usman def. Demian Maia Decision (unanimous) (50–45, 49–46, 49–46) 5 5:00
Women's Strawweight Tatiana Suarez def. Alexa Grasso Submission (rear-naked choke) 1 2:44
Light Heavyweight Dominick Reyes def. Jared Cannonier TKO (punches) 1 2:55
Bantamweight Guido Cannetti def. Diego Rivas Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Women's Flyweight Andrea Lee def. Veronica Macedo Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00
Welterweight Vicente Luque def. Chad Laprise KO (punches) 1 4:16
Preliminary card (Fox Sports 2)
Welterweight Michel Prazeres def. Zak Cummings Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) 3 5:00
Flyweight Alexandre Pantoja def. Brandon Moreno Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 30–26, 29–27) 3 5:00
Women's Strawweight Poliana Botelho def. Syuri Kondo TKO (body kick and punches) 1 0:33
Featherweight Gabriel Benítez def. Humberto Bandenay KO (slam and punches) 1 0:39
Preliminary card (UFC Fight Pass)
Featherweight Enrique Barzola def. Brandon Davis Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–26, 30–26) 3 5:00
Bantamweight Frankie Saenz def. Henry Briones Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–26) 3 5:00
Lightweight Claudio Puelles def. Felipe Silva Submission (kneebar) 3 2:23

[14]

Bonus awards edit

The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses:[15]

  • Fight of the Night: Andrea Lee vs. Veronica Macedo
  • Performance of the Night: Gabriel Benítez and Claudio Puelles

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Staff (2018-05-20). "UFC Fight Night 129 attendance: Chilean debut draws announced 11,082 fans". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
  2. ^ Chisanga Malata (2018-02-10). "Next UFCevent: full schedule of UFC events for 2018". express.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-02-10.
  3. ^ Felipe Kaponi (2017-12-19). "Fight! UFC has reserved the Movistar Arena to present on May 19 in Chile" (in Spanish). redgol.cl. Retrieved 2018-01-31.
  4. ^ Staff (2018-03-24). "Kamaru Usman vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio official for UFC Fight Night 129 headliner". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2018-03-26.
  5. ^ Mike Bohn (2018-04-21). "UFC Chile main, co-main events fall apart with Santiago Ponzinibbio, Volkan Oezdemir out". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2018-04-21.
  6. ^ Raphael Marinho (2018-04-26). "Ultimate announces Demian Maia as substitute for Ponzinibbio at UFC Chile" (in Portuguese). sportv.globo.com. Retrieved 2018-04-26.
  7. ^ Danny Segura (2018-01-31). "Injury postpones Ray Borg vs. Brandon Moreno to UFC 223 in Brooklyn". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2018-01-31.
  8. ^ Dave Doyle (2018-04-05). "Ray Borg vs. Brandon Moreno pulled from UFC 223 in latest Conor McGregor incident casualty". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  9. ^ Danny Segura (2018-04-11). "Ray Borg vs. Brandon Moreno rebooked for UFC Chile". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  10. ^ Alexander K. Lee (2018-04-27). "Ray Borg withdraws from UFC Chile bout vs. Brandon Moreno due to child's surgery". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2018-04-28.
  11. ^ Raphael Marinho (2018-04-28). "Alexandre Pantoja replaces Ray Borg in bout against Brandon Moreno at UFC Santiago" (in Portuguese). sportv.globo.com. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
  12. ^ Marcelo Barone and Raphael Marinho (2018-03-13). "Oezdemir is forbidden to leave the US and the Shogun bout will be rescheduled" (in Portuguese). sportv.globo.com. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
  13. ^ Staff (2018-04-23). "Volkan Oezdemir vs. 'Shogun' rebooked, now headlines UFC Fight Night 134 in Hamburg". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  14. ^ "UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Usman". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
  15. ^ Staff (2018-05-20). "UFC Fight Night 129 bonuses: Early finishes among $50,000 winners". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2018-05-20.