| UFC 277: Peña vs. Nunes 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 277: Peña vs. Nunes 2 | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | July 30, 2022 (2022-07-30) | |||
| Venue | American Airlines Center | |||
| City | Dallas, Texas, United States | |||
| Attendance | 19,442[1] | |||
| Total gate | $4,455,691[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC 277: Peña vs. Nunes 2 was amixed martial arts event produced by theUltimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 30, 2022, atAmerican Airlines Center inDallas, Texas, United States.[2]
AUFC Women's Bantamweight Championship rematch between current champion (alsoThe Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate bantamweight winner)Julianna Peña and former champion (also thenUFC Women's Featherweight Champion)Amanda Nunes headlined the event.[3] The pairing previously met atUFC 269 in last December, where Peña captured the title by submission in the second round in a major upset.[4] They were also the head coaches for the30th season ofThe Ultimate Fighter.[5] This was the seventh time in UFC history that champions in different divisions fought for the same title, followingUFC 94,UFC 205,UFC 226,UFC 232,UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw andUFC 259.
An interimUFC Flyweight Championship bout between former championBrandon Moreno andKai Kara-France took place at the event.[6] The pairing previously met atUFC 245 in December 2019, with Moreno winning via unanimous decision.[7]Alexandre Pantoja served as backup and potential replacement for this fight.[8]
Sean Strickland was expected to face formerGlory Middleweight andLight Heavyweight ChampionAlex Pereira in a middleweight bout at this event.[9] However, the promotion decided to move the pairing toUFC 276.[10]
A middleweight bout between formerStrikeforce andUFC Middleweight ChampionLuke Rockhold and former title challengerPaulo Costa was expected to take place at the event.[11] However, the bout was postponed toUFC 278 for unknown reasons.[12]
A welterweight bout between Orion Cosce and Mike Mathetha took place at the event.[13] The duo was previously scheduled to meet atUFC 271 andUFC 275, but the bout was cancelled due to Mathetha getting injured and Cosce pulling out due to undisclosed reasons, respectively.[14][15]
Ji Yeon Kim andMariya Agapova were expected to meet in a women's flyweight bout at the event.[16] However, Agapova was forced out of the fight due to a knee injury and was replaced byJoselyne Edwards who had fought only six weeks prior inUFC 275.[17]
Carlos Diego Ferreira was scheduled to meetDrakkar Klose in a lightweight bout.[18] However, Ferreira was forced out the event in mid July due to an injury.[19] He was replaced byRafa García.[20]
A lightweight bout featuringIgnacio Bahamondes andĽudovít Klein was originally scheduled for the preliminary card.[21] However, Bahamondes pulled out on July 15 and Klein was relocated againstMason Jones a week earlier atUFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Aspinall.[22]
Justin Tafa andDon'Tale Mayes were expected to meet in a heavyweight bout at the preliminary card.[23] Tafa pulled out due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by promotional newcomerHamdy Abdelwahab on July 18.[20]
Ramiz Brahimaj was scheduled to meetMichael Morales in a welterweight bout.[24] However, Brahimaj was forced out the event in mid July due to an undisclosed injury.[20] He was replaced by Adam Fugitt.[25]
At the weigh-ins, two fighters missed weight for their respective bouts.Joselyne Edwards weighed in at 137.5 pounds, one and a half pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit. Orion Cosce weighed in at 172.5 pounds, one and a half pounds over the welterweight non-title fight limit. Both bouts proceeded at catchweight with Edwards and Cosce each fined 20% of their purses, which went to their opponentsJi Yeon Kim and Mike Mathetha respectively.[26]
| Main card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Women's Bantamweight | Amanda Nunes | def. | Julianna Peña (c) | Decision (unanimous) (50–45, 50–44, 50–43) | 5 | 5:00 | [a] |
| Flyweight | Brandon Moreno | def. | Kai Kara-France | TKO (body kick and punches) | 3 | 4:34 | [b] |
| Heavyweight | Sergei Pavlovich | def. | Derrick Lewis | TKO (punches) | 1 | 0:55 | |
| Flyweight | Alexandre Pantoja | def. | Alex Perez | Submission (neck crank) | 1 | 1:31 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Magomed Ankalaev | def. | Anthony Smith | TKO (punches) | 2 | 3:09 | |
| Preliminary card (ESPN / ABC / ESPN+) | |||||||
| Welterweight | Alex Morono | def. | Matthew Semelsberger | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Drew Dober | def. | Rafael Alves | KO (punch to the body) | 3 | 1:30 | |
| Heavyweight | Hamdy Abdelwahab | vs. | Don'Tale Mayes | No Contest (overturned) | 3 | 5:00 | [c] |
| Lightweight | Drakkar Klose | def. | Rafa García | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Early preliminary card (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
| Welterweight | Michael Morales | def. | Adam Fugitt | TKO (punches) | 3 | 1:09 | |
| Catchweight (137.5 lb) | Joselyne Edwards | def. | Ji Yeon Kim | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Nicolae Negumereanu | def. | Ihor Potieria | TKO (punches and knees) | 2 | 3:33 | |
| Catchweight (172.5 lb) | Orion Cosce | def. | Mike Mathetha | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[29]
The following fighters receivedCrypto.com "Fan Bonus of the Night" awards paid inbitcoin of US$30,000 for first place, US$20,000 for second place, and US$10,000 for third place.[30]
On February 3, 2023, it was announced that theUnited States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) suspendedHamdy Abdelwahab for two years after he tested positive twice for anabolic agentmethenolone and its metabolites. He also was flagged for a tampering violation. His victory was also overturned to a no contest and he will be eligible to return to competition on July 30, 2024, two years from the first positive test.[27]
