This event was initially planned to take place atAstana Arena inNur-Sultan, Kazakhstan and would have been the first that the promotion had contested there.[4] However, it was announced by UFC presidentDana White on April 9 that starting withUFC 249, all future events were indefinitely postponed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[5]
While not officially announced by the organization, the promotion was targeting a bantamweight bout between formerWSOF Bantamweight Champion andUFC Bantamweight Championship challengerMarlon Moraes andPetr Yan to serve as the original event headliner.[6] The pairing was scrapped after it was confirmed that the event would no longer take place in Kazakhstan.[7]
A flyweight bout between promotional newcomerZhalgas Zhumagulov andJordan Espinosa was initially scheduled for the event when it was targeted for Kazakhstan.[10] However, due to travel restrictions related to COVID-19 pandemic, Zhumagulov was removed from the card after the event was moved to Las Vegas. Espinosa instead would faceMark De La Rosa in a bantamweight bout.[11]
Additionally, the event included fighters that were pulled from other events previously cancelled, as well as the following bouts:[12]
A flyweight bout betweenTyson Nam andRyan Benoit was scheduled for the event.[21] However, Benoit withdrew due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by promotional newcomerZarrukh Adashev, thus changing the contest to the bantamweight division.[22]
A bantamweight bout between formerUFC Flyweight Championship challengerRay Borg andMerab Dvalishvili was scheduled for the event. However, Borg withdrew from the event for personal reasons and was replaced by promotional newcomerGustavo Lopez. The bout took place at a catchweight of 140 pounds.[23]
Before the weigh-ins,Darrick Minner was pulled from his bout withJordan Griffin due to unspecified health issues and the bout was cancelled.[24]
At the weigh-ins, Eye, Roberson and Adashev all missed weight for their respective bouts. Eye weighed in at 126.25 pounds, a quarter pound over the flyweight non-title fight limit. Roberson weighed in at 190.5 pounds, four and a half pounds over the middleweight non-title fight limit and Adashev weighed in at 138.5 pounds, two and a half pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit. Their bouts proceeded at a catchweight and they were respectively fined 25%, 30% and 20% of their individual purses, which went to their opponents Calvillo, Vettori and Nam.[25]
The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to theNevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC). It does not include sponsor money and also does not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses. The total disclosed payout for the event was $782,000.[28][29]
Christian Aguilera: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus) def. Anthony Ivy: $12,000
^Eye ($12,750), Roberson ($12,000) and Adashev ($2,800) were respectively fined 25%, 30% and 20% of their purses for failing to make the required weight limit for each of their respective fights. That money was issued to their opponents, a NSAC official confirmed.[29]
