| UFC on ESPN: Blaydes vs. Daukaus | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC on ESPN: Blaydes vs. Daukaus | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | March 26, 2022 (2022-03-26) | |||
| Venue | Nationwide Arena | |||
| City | Columbus, Ohio, United States | |||
| Attendance | 18,630[1] | |||
| Total gate | $1,921,988.24[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC on ESPN: Blaydes vs. Daukaus (also known asUFC on ESPN 33) was amixed martial arts event produced by theUltimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 26, 2022 at theNationwide Arena inColumbus, Ohio, United States.[2][3]
A light heavyweight bout between formerKSW andUFC Light Heavyweight ChampionJan Błachowicz andAleksandar Rakić was expected to serve as the event headliner.[4][5] However in late January, Błachowicz withdrew due to an injury and the bout was rescheduled forUFC on ESPN 36.[6][7] Instead, a heavyweight bout betweenCurtis Blaydes andChris Daukaus headlined the event.[8]
A women's flyweight bout betweenJoanne Wood andAlexa Grasso was originally scheduled forUFC Fight Night: Vieira vs. Tate, but Grasso pulled out due to injury and the pairing was scrapped.[9] They were then rescheduled for this event.[10]
A welterweight bout betweenMatt Brown andBryan Barberena was expected to take place atUFC on ESPN: Font vs. Aldo in last December, but Brown was removed from the contest due totesting positive for COVID-19.[11] They instead met at this event.[12]
A bantamweight bout betweenMontel Jackson andDanaa Batgerel was scheduled for this event.[13] However, Jackson had to pull out of the bout and was replaced byChris Gutiérrez.[14]
A women's strawweight bout between formerInvicta FC Atomweight ChampionMichelle Waterson andAmanda Ribas was expected to take place at this event.[15] However, Waterson was forced to withdraw in early March due to an undisclosed injury and the bout was postponed toUFC 274.[16] At first, they were expected to meet atUFC 257, but Waterson pulled out of that bout due to undisclosed reasons.[17]
Lerone Murphy andNate Landwehr were expected to meet in a featherweight bout.[18] However, Murphy withdrew from the bout due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by David Onama.[19] In turn, Landwehr had to pull out of the bout and the bout was scrapped.[20]
Undefeated middleweights Aliaskhab Khizriev andAbusupiyan Magomedov were expected to meet at the event.[21] However, Magomedov pulled out for unknown reasons and was replaced by Denis Tiuliulin.[22]
A featherweight bout between Tucker Lutz andSeung Woo Choi was scheduled for the event.[23] However, Choi was forced to withdraw from the event due to an undisclosed injury and the bout was scrapped.[24]
A heavyweight bout betweenAleksei Oleinik andIlir Latifi was expected to take place at event.[25] However, the bout was canceled as Latifi withdrew on the day of the event due to illness.[26] The pairing was rescheduled for two weeks later atUFC 273.[27]
| Main card (ESPN / ESPN+) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Heavyweight | Curtis Blaydes | def. | Chris Daukaus | TKO (punches) | 2 | 0:17 | |
| Women's Flyweight | Alexa Grasso | def. | Joanne Wood | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 1 | 3:57 | |
| Welterweight | Bryan Barberena | def. | Matt Brown | Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Flyweight | Kai Kara-France | def. | Askar Askarov | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Neil Magny | def. | Max Griffin | Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Marc Diakiese | def. | Viacheslav Borshchev | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary card (ESPN+) | |||||||
| Women's Bantamweight | Sara McMann | def. | Karol Rosa | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Chris Gutiérrez | def. | Danaa Batgerel | TKO (spinning back fist and elbows) | 2 | 2:34 | |
| Middleweight | Aliaskhab Khizriev | def. | Denis Tiuliulin | Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) | 2 | 1:58 | |
| Women's Flyweight | Manon Fiorot | def. | Jennifer Maia | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Flyweight | Matheus Nicolau | def. | David Dvořák | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Luis Saldaña | def. | Bruno Souza | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[29]
The event had the highest grossing gate for a U.S.-based fight night.[1]
The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the Ohio Athletic Commission. It is important to note the amounts do not include sponsor money, discretionary bonuses, viewership points or additional earnings. The total disclosed payout for the event was $1,717,000.[30]
