| UFC on ESPN: Munhoz vs. Edgar | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC on ESPN: Munhoz vs. Edgar | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | August 22, 2020 (2020-08-22) | |||
| Venue | UFC Apex | |||
| City | Enterprise, Nevada, United States | |||
| Attendance | None (behind closed doors)[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC on ESPN: Munhoz vs. Edgar (also known asUFC on ESPN 15 andUFC Vegas 7) was amixed martial arts event produced by theUltimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 22, 2020, at theUFC Apex facility inEnterprise, Nevada, part of theLas Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.[2]
A bantamweight bout betweenPedro Munhoz and formerUFC Lightweight ChampionFrankie Edgar served as the event headliner.[3] The matchup was briefly scheduled to take place atUFC 251, but it was then moved four days later to bolsterUFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige.[4] On July 6, it was announced that the bout was scrapped after Munhoztested positive for COVID-19.[5] The pairing remained intact nonetheless and was rescheduled forUFC 252.[6] However, the promotion decided to move the contest one final time.[3]
Promotion officials had initially targeted a welterweight bout between formerUFC Welterweight ChampionTyron Woodley and former interim championColby Covington to serve as the event headliner, but Woodley announced that the date did not provide him with time suitable enough to prepare because of injuries incurred during his most recent fight.[7]
A light heavyweight bout between former interimUFC Light Heavyweight Championship challengerOvince Saint Preux andShamil Gamzatov was initially scheduled forApril 25, but Gamzatov was forced to pull out of the event due totravel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8] The pairing was rescheduled for this event.[9] However, Gamzatov pulled out of the bout on August 13 due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced byAlonzo Menifield.[10] Just hours before the event was scheduled to begin, it was announced that the bout was cancelled due to Saint Preux testing positive for COVID-19.[11] The bout was then targeted for September 5 atUFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Sakai.[12]
FormerUFC Middleweight Championship challenger (as well as2000 Olympic silver medalist and former world champion infreestyle wrestling)Yoel Romero was scheduled to faceUriah Hall at the event, but pulled out of the fight on August 11 for undisclosed reasons.[13] The pairing was then expected to be rescheduled for a future event.[14]
Philip Rowe was briefly linked to a bout with promotional newcomerMatthew Semelsberger at the event.[15] However, Rowe pulled out of the bout citing a toe injury. Semelsberger faced fellow newcomer Carlton Minus.[14]
A women's strawweight bout between formerInvicta FC Strawweight ChampionAngela Hill and formerInvicta FC Atomweight ChampionMichelle Waterson was scheduled for the event.[16] However, due to undisclosed personal reasons for Waterson, the bout was rescheduled for September 12 and ultimately served as the main event ofUFC Fight Night: Waterson vs. Hill.[17]
A light heavyweight bout between Jorge Gonzalez andIke Villanueva was expected to take a week earlier at UFC 252.[18] However, due to allegedvisa issues for Gonzalez, the pairing was rescheduled for this event.[19] In turn, Gonzalez was removed from the card for undisclosed reasons and replaced by promotional newcomerJordan Wright.[20]
Promotional newcomerJared Gooden was scheduled to faceDwight Grant in a welterweight bout at the event, but pulled out of the fight during the week leading up to the event with an undisclosed injury.[21] In turn, promotional newcomer Calen Born was announced as the replacement.[22] However, Born pulled out of the fight on the day of the weigh-ins due to undisclosed personal issues.[23] Meanwhile, another welterweight bout betweenTakashi Sato andDaniel Rodriguez was scrapped after the weigh-ins. Despite making the required weight, Sato was not cleared to fight byNevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) medical personnel and Rodriguez faced Grant instead.[23]
A middleweight bout betweenMaki Pitolo and promotional newcomerImpa Kasanganay was briefly linked to the event.[24] However, promotion officials elected to move the pairing a week later toUFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Rakić for undisclosed reasons.[25]
Promotional newcomerMark Striegl was expected to face fellow newcomerTimur Valiev at the event. However, Striegl was removed from the fight on August 20 after testing positive for COVID-19 and replaced byTrevin Jones. The bout was contested at a catchweight of 140 pounds.[26]
| Main card (ESPN / ESPN+) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Bantamweight | Frankie Edgar | def. | Pedro Munhoz | Decision (split) (48–47, 46–49, 48–47) | 5 | 5:00 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Mike Rodríguez | def. | Marcin Prachnio | KO (elbow and punches) | 1 | 2:17 | |
| Lightweight | Joe Solecki | def. | Austin Hubbard | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 1 | 3:51 | |
| Women's Flyweight | Shana Dobson | def. | Mariya Agapova | TKO (punches) | 2 | 1:38 | |
| Welterweight | Daniel Rodriguez | def. | Dwight Grant | KO (punches) | 1 | 2:24 | |
| Preliminary Card (ESPN+) | |||||||
| Women's Strawweight | Amanda Lemos | def. | Mizuki Inoue | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Jordan Wright | def. | Ike Villanueva | TKO (doctor stoppage) | 1 | 1:31 | |
| Welterweight | Matthew Semelsberger | def. | Carlton Minus | Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Catchweight (140 lb) | Trevin Jones | vs. | Timur Valiev | No Contest (overturned) | 2 | 1:59 | [a] |
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[29]
On October 7, it was announced that the NSAC issued a four and a half month suspension forTrevin Jones, after he tested positive formarijuana in a drug test related to his fight. They also announced that Jones' victory was overturned to a no contest due to the violation. He was fined $1,800 and before he is relicensed in Las Vegas, Jones will also have to pay a prosecution fee of $145.36.[27]
