| UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2 | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | July 19, 2020 (2020-07-19) | |||
| Venue | du Forum | |||
| City | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |||
| Attendance | None (behind closed doors)[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2 (also known asUFC Fight Night 172,UFC on ESPN+ 30 andUFC Fight Island 2) was amixed martial arts event produced by theUltimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 19, 2020 at thedu Forum onYas Island,Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.[2]
This event was the third of four UFCFight Island events scheduled to take place on Yas Island in July 2020, followingUFC 251 andUFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige, as part of a plan to facilitate the hosting of events involving fighters impacted by U.S.travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]
Without fans in attendance, the promotion did not have to worry about the local timing of the event, so the event proceeded with normal timing forprime time hours on theeast coast of North America. The main card began at 5:00 am (July 19) local time in Abu Dhabi, with a full preliminary card beginning at approximately 2:00 amGulf Standard Time.[3]
AUFC Flyweight Championship rematch for the vacant title betweenDeiveson Figueiredo and former title challengerJoseph Benavidez took place as the headliner.[4] With formerUFC Flyweight andBantamweight ChampionHenry Cejudo vacating his flyweight title in December 2019, the pairing then met atUFC Fight Night: Benavidez vs. Figueiredo in February to determine the new champion. Figueiredo won via second-round TKO, but the title remained vacant because he missed weight.[5] On July 11, it was announced that Figueiredotested positive for COVID-19, leaving the title bout in jeopardy. According to his manager,Wallid Ismail, a second test was administered before an official decision was made regarding Figueiredo's possible removal from the event. Ismail said that Figueiredo already tested positive for COVID-19 two months ago and believes that this test was a false positive.[6] A day later, it was confirmed that Figueiredo passed his second test and would travel to Abu Dhabi, though he still needed to pass other tests upon arrival.[7] He passed multiple tests in Abu Dhabi, clearing the fight for the main event.[8]
A heavyweight bout betweenSergey Spivak andCarlos Felipe was scheduled for the original May 9 date ofUFC 250 that later becameUFC 249, but was eventually scrapped due to that change. The pairing was rescheduled for this event.[9]
A light heavyweight bout betweenRoman Dolidze andKhadis Ibragimov was initially scheduled forthe promotion's inaugural event in Kazakhstan planned a month prior.[10] However, the fight was postponed after the card was moved to Las Vegas due to travel restrictions for both participants related to theCOVID-19 pandemic. The pairing was left intact and rescheduled for this event.[11]
A lightweight bout betweenDavi Ramos andArman Tsarukyan was expected to take place atUFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris, but was postponed as the event was cancelled. The pairing was moved to this event.[12]
A lightweight bout betweenMarc Diakiese andAlan Patrick was scheduled for the event. However, Patrick withdrew on June 14 for an unknown reason and was replaced byRafael Fiziev.[13]
Tagir Ulanbekov was expected to face Aleksander Doskalchuk in a flyweight bout at this event. However, Ulanbekov pulled out on July 3 afterAbdulmanap Nurmagomedov, father of currentUFC Lightweight ChampionKhabib Nurmagomedov, died from complications related to COVID-19.[14] In turn, Doskalchuk pulled out a week later due to undisclosed reasons. They were replaced byMalcolm Gordon andAmir Albazi respectively.[15][16]
| Main card (ESPN+) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Flyweight | Deiveson Figueiredo | def. | Joseph Benavidez | Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) | 1 | 4:48 | [a] |
| Middleweight | Jack Hermansson | def. | Kelvin Gastelum | Submission (heel hook) | 1 | 1:18 | |
| Lightweight | Rafael Fiziev | def. | Marc Diakiese | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Women's Flyweight | Ariane Lipski | def. | Luana Carolina | Submission (kneebar) | 1 | 1:28 | |
| Flyweight | Askar Askarov | def. | Alexandre Pantoja | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary card (ESPN / ESPN+) | |||||||
| Light Heavyweight | Roman Dolidze | def. | Khadis Ibragimov | TKO (knee and punches) | 1 | 4:15 | |
| Catchweight (150 lb) | Grant Dawson | def. | Nad Narimani | Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 30–27, 29–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Joel Álvarez | def. | Joseph Duffy | Submission (guillotine choke) | 1 | 2:25 | |
| Bantamweight | Brett Johns | def. | Montel Jackson | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Amir Albazi | def. | Malcolm Gordon | Submission (triangle choke) | 1 | 4:42 | |
| Lightweight | Arman Tsarukyan | def. | Davi Ramos | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Heavyweight | Serghei Spivac | def. | Carlos Felipe | Decision (majority) (28–28, 29–27, 29–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[18]
