| UFC on ESPN: Brunson vs. Holland | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC on ESPN: Brunson vs. Holland | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | March 20, 2021 (2021-03-20) | |||
| Venue | UFC Apex | |||
| City | Enterprise, Nevada, United States | |||
| Attendance | None (behind closed doors)[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC on ESPN: Brunson vs. Holland (also known asUFC on ESPN 21 andUFC Vegas 22) was amixed martial arts event produced by theUltimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 20, 2021 at theUFC Apex facility inEnterprise, Nevada, part of theLas Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.[2]
A middleweight bout betweenDerek Brunson andKevin Holland served as the event headliner.[3]
A women's bantamweight bout betweenMarion Reneau andThe Ultimate Fighter: Heavy Hitters women's featherweight winnerMacy Chiasson was originally scheduled forUFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Volkov.[4] However, during the week leading up to the fight, Reneau was pulled from the card aftertesting positive for COVID-19. The bout was expected to remain intact and was rescheduled forUFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Gane.[5] They were once again rescheduled on February 20, due to Chiasson suffering an injury, with the pairing taking place at this event.[6]
A light heavyweight bout betweenPaul Craig andJamahal Hill was expected to place at the event.[7] However on March 10, Hill withdrew from the bout after testing positive for COVID-19. Promotion officials have not confirmed, but the pairing is expected to remain intact and be rescheduled for a future event.[8]
FormerKSW Welterweight ChampionDricus du Plessis was expected to faceTrevin Giles in a middleweight bout at this event.[9] However, du Plessis pulled out due tovisa issues and was replaced byRoman Dolidze.[10]
A women's strawweight bout betweenKay Hansen and promotional newcomerCheyanne Vlismas was scheduled for the event.[11] However, Hansen pulled out due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced on March 12 by promotional newcomerMontserrat Ruiz.[12]
A bantamweight bout betweenJohnny Eduardo andAnthony Birchak was expected to take place at the event.[13] However on March 15, Eduardo withdrew from the bout due to visa issues and the bout was scrapped.[14]
Don'Tale Mayes was expected to faceTai Tuivasa in a heavyweight bout at the event.[15] However, Mayes was removed from the fight during the week leading up to the event for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by promotional newcomer Harry Hunsucker.[16]
At the weigh-ins, Jesse Strader weighed in at 137.5 pounds, one and a half pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit. His bout proceeded at a catchweight and he was fined 20% of his individual purse, which went to his opponentMontel Jackson.[17] Meanwhile, formerInvicta FC Bantamweight ChampionJulija Stoliarenko made the weight for her bout againstJulia Avila, but the contest was cancelled due to health concerns as Stoliarenko collapsed twice off the scales during her attempts.[18]
A lightweight bout betweenGregor Gillespie andBrad Riddell was expected to take serve as the co-main event.[19] However, it was cancelled on the day of the event due to COVID-19 protocols.[20]
| Main Card (ESPN / ESPN+) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Middleweight | Derek Brunson | def. | Kevin Holland | Decision (unanimous) (49–45, 49–46, 49–46) | 5 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Max Griffin | def. | Song Kenan | KO (punches) | 1 | 2:20 | |
| Women's Strawweight | Montserrat Ruiz | def. | Cheyanne Vlismas | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Adrian Yañez | def. | Gustavo Lopez | KO (punch) | 3 | 0:27 | |
| Heavyweight | Tai Tuivasa | def. | Harry Hunsucker | TKO (punches) | 1 | 0:49 | |
| Preliminary Card (ESPN2 / ESPN+) | |||||||
| Women's Bantamweight | Macy Chiasson | def. | Marion Reneau | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Grant Dawson | def. | Leonardo Santos | KO (punches) | 3 | 4:59 | |
| Middleweight | Trevin Giles | def. | Roman Dolidze | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Catchweight (137.5 lb) | Montel Jackson | def. | Jesse Strader | TKO (punches) | 1 | 1:58 | |
| Flyweight | Bruno Gustavo da Silva | def. | JP Buys | TKO (punches) | 2 | 2:56 | |
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[22]
