| UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | March 13, 2021 (2021-03-13) | |||
| Venue | UFC Apex | |||
| City | Enterprise, Nevada, United States | |||
| Attendance | None (behind closed doors)[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad (also known asUFC Fight Night 187,UFC on ESPN+ 45 andUFC Vegas 21) was amixed martial arts event produced by theUltimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 13, 2021 at theUFC Apex facility inEnterprise, Nevada, part of theLas Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.[2][3]
A welterweight bout betweenLeon Edwards andKhamzat Chimaev was expected to serve as the main event.[4] The pairing has been scheduled as headliner and cancelled on two previous occasions due toCOVID-19 related issues affecting both fighters. First atUFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Neal in December 2020, and again atUFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny in January 2021.[5][6][7] On February 11, the fight was cancelled a third time as it was announced that Chimaev was still suffering fromlingering effects of COVID-19 and pulled out of the fight.[8] Edwards facedBelal Muhammad instead.[9]
A bantamweight bout betweenIrwin Rivera and Ray Rodriguez was scheduled for the event.[10] However, on January 7, news surfaced that Rivera was arrested for two counts ofattempted murder inPalm Beach County, Florida after he allegedly stabbed his two sisters. He is currently being held in the Palm Beach County jail without bail.[11] He was replaced byRani Yahya.[12]
Tagir Ulanbekov and returning veteranMatheus Nicolau were expected to meet in a flyweight bout atUFC 257, but Ulanbekov withdrew in late December due to undisclosed reasons.[13] The pairing was eventually rescheduled for this event.[14] However, Ulanbekov pulled out once again and was replaced by formerRizin FF Bantamweight ChampionManel Kape.[15]
A heavyweight bout betweenJairzinho Rozenstruik andCiryl Gane was originally scheduled for this event.[16] However, they were moved to headlineUFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Gane after the original main event between formerUFC Light Heavyweight Championship challengerDominick Reyes and formerRizin Light Heavyweight ChampionJiří Procházka was cancelled due to undisclosed reasons.[17]
Guram Kutateladze was expected to face Don Madge in a lightweight bout at the event.[18] However, Kutateladze pulled out in early February due to a knee injury.[19] He was replaced byNasrat Haqparast.[20] In turn, Madge pulled out on March 6 due tovisa issues.[21] Haqparast eventually faced promotional newcomerRafa García.[22]
The Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs. Team Faber lightweight winnerRyan Hall was expected to faceDan Ige in a featherweight bout at the event.[23] However, Hall pulled out of the fight on February 11 due to undisclosed reasons.[24] Ige facedGavin Tucker instead.[25]
Misha Cirkunov was expected to faceRyan Spann in a light heavyweight bout atUFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Neal. However, Cirkunov pulled out due to an injury.[26] The fight took place at this event.[27]
Charles Jourdain was expected to faceSteve Garcia in a featherweight bout at the event.[28] However, Garcia withdrew from the fight for unknown reasons and was replaced by Marcelo Rojo.[29]
A women's strawweight rematch between formerInvicta FC Strawweight ChampionAngela Hill andAshley Yoder was expected to take place atUFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Gane.[30] The two met before atThe Ultimate Fighter: Redemption Finale in July 2017, with Hill winning via unanimous decision.[31] Their second meeting was postponed on the day of that event, as it was announced that one of Yoder's cornermen tested positive for COVID-19. The bout took place at this card.[32]
A featherweight bout betweenRicardo Ramos andZubaira Tukhugov was expected to take place during the preliminary portion of the event.[33] A week before the event, Tukhugov pulled out due to undisclosed reasons.[34] Promotion officials elected to remove Ramos from the card entirely and he will be rescheduled for a future event.[35]
A heavyweight bout betweenBen Rothwell andPhilipe Lins was expected to take place at the event.[36] However, during the week leading up to the event the bout was removed from the card due to undisclosed reasons. The pairing is expected to remain intact and rescheduled forUFC on ESPN: Rodriguez vs. Waterson.[37]
| Main card (ESPN+) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Welterweight | Leon Edwards | vs. | Belal Muhammad | No Contest (accidental eye poke) | 2 | 0:18 | [a] |
| Light Heavyweight | Ryan Spann | def. | Misha Cirkunov | TKO (punches) | 1 | 1:11 | |
| Featherweight | Dan Ige | def. | Gavin Tucker | KO (punch) | 1 | 0:22 | |
| Bantamweight | Davey Grant | def. | Jonathan Martinez | KO (punch) | 2 | 3:03 | |
| Flyweight | Matheus Nicolau | def. | Manel Kape | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Middleweight | Eryk Anders | vs. | Darren Stewart | No Contest (illegal knee) | 1 | 4:37 | [b] |
| Preliminary card (ESPN+) | |||||||
| Women’s Strawweight | Angela Hill | def. | Ashley Yoder | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Charles Jourdain | def. | Marcelo Rojo | TKO (punches) | 3 | 4:31 | |
| Bantamweight | Rani Yahya | def. | Ray Rodriguez | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | 2 | 3:09 | |
| Lightweight | Nasrat Haqparast | def. | Rafa García | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Women’s Flyweight | JJ Aldrich | def. | Cortney Casey | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Women’s Strawweight | Jinh Yu Frey | def. | Gloria de Paula | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Matthew Semelsberger | def. | Jason Witt | KO (punch) | 1 | 0:16 | |
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[39]
