| UFC 244: Masvidal vs. Diaz | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 244: Masvidal vs. Diaz | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | November 2, 2019 (2019-11-02) | |||
| Venue | Madison Square Garden | |||
| City | New York City,New York, United States | |||
| Attendance | 20,143[1] | |||
| Total gate | $6,575,996.19[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC 244: Masvidal vs. Diaz was amixed martial arts pay-per-view event produced by theUltimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 2, 2019, atMadison Square Garden inNew York City,New York, United States.[2] It was the UFC's 500th live event.[3]
A welterweight bout betweenJorge Masvidal and formerUFC Lightweight Championship challenger andThe Ultimate Fighter 5 lightweight winnerNate Diaz headlined the event.[4] After hisUFC 241 win against former lightweight championAnthony Pettis, Diaz proclaimed himself the "baddestmotherfucker in the game" and issued a challenge to Masvidal. When the fight was scheduled,Dana White announced that a celebratory "baddest motherfucker" belt, embossed "BMF," would be awarded to the winner.[5] However, on October 24, Diaz tweeted a statement saying he would not be competing due to an adverse drug test finding, which put the bout in jeopardy.[6] On October 26, the UFC announced that Diaz had been cleared to compete, as his positive test had traces of LGD-4033, orLigandrol, a selective androgen receptor modulator which was known to be linked to a tainted batch of organic, vegan multivitamins.[7]
Krzysztof Jotko was scheduled to faceEdmen Shahbazyan at the event. However, Jotko was removed from the card in early October for undisclosed reasons and replaced byBrad Tavares.[8]
At the weigh-ins, formerInvicta FC Flyweight ChampionJennifer Maia weighed in at 127.2 pounds, 1.2 pounds over the flyweight non-title fight limit of 126 pounds. The bout proceeded at acatchweight and Maia was fined 25% of her purse, which went to her opponentKatlyn Chookagian.[9]
Prior to the ceremonial weigh-ins, theNew York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) issued a rare statement in which it was announced that they would be pursuing disciplinary action againstThe Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen middleweight winner and former interim title challengerKelvin Gastelum. In the statement, the Athletic Commission stated that following a review of Gastelum's weigh-in video they "determined that Mr. Gastelum made contact with another person while on the scale, a violation of the weigh in policy. In light of this violation, the Commission will pursue disciplinary action. At this time, the official weight determination will not be disturbed, and Mr. Gastelum will not be disqualified from competing in UFC 244."[10]
On November 8, it was announced thatCorey Anderson had been fined $10,000 by the NYSAC for "unsportsmanlike and disorderly conduct" for taunting and screaming atJohnny Walker and shoving the referee away during his post-fight celebration. Kelvin Gastelum was also fined $1,000 for making physical contact with his coachRafael Cordeiro while on the scale at the weigh-ins.[11]
| Main card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Welterweight | Jorge Masvidal | def. | Nate Diaz | TKO (doctor stoppage) | 3 | 5:00 | [a] |
| Middleweight | Darren Till | def. | Kelvin Gastelum | Decision (split) (27–30, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Stephen Thompson | def. | Vicente Luque | Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 30–26, 29–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Heavyweight | Derrick Lewis | def. | Blagoy Ivanov | Decision (split) (30–27, 28–29, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Kevin Lee | def. | Gregor Gillespie | KO (head kick) | 1 | 2:47 | |
| Preliminary card (ESPN2) | |||||||
| Light Heavyweight | Corey Anderson | def. | Johnny Walker | TKO (punches) | 1 | 2:07 | |
| Featherweight | Shane Burgos | def. | Makwan Amirkhani | TKO (punches) | 3 | 4:32 | |
| Middleweight | Edmen Shahbazyan | def. | Brad Tavares | KO (head kick) | 1 | 2:27 | |
| Heavyweight | Jairzinho Rozenstruik | def. | Andrei Arlovski | KO (punch) | 1 | 0:29 | |
| Early Preliminary card (UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
| Catchweight (127.2 lb) | Katlyn Chookagian | def. | Jennifer Maia | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Lyman Good | def. | Chance Rencountre | TKO (punches) | 3 | 2:03 | |
| Featherweight | Hakeem Dawodu | def. | Julio Arce | Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[13]
