| UFC on ESPN: Hermansson vs. Vettori | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC on ESPN: Hermansson vs. Vettori | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | December 5, 2020 (2020-12-05) | |||
| Venue | UFC Apex | |||
| City | Enterprise, Nevada, United States | |||
| Attendance | None (behind closed doors)[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC on ESPN: Hermansson vs. Vettori (also known asUFC on ESPN 19 andUFC Vegas 16) was amixed martial arts event produced by theUltimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 5, 2020 at theUFC Apex facility inEnterprise, Nevada, part of theLas Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.[2]
The promotion was targeting a middleweight bout between formerUFC Welterweight Championship challengerDarren Till andJack Hermansson to serve as the event headliner.[3] However, it was revealed on November 6 that Till was forced to withdraw from the planned bout due to an undisclosed injury. He was replaced byKevin Holland.[4] In turn, Holland was removed from the contest on November 28 after testing positive for COVID-19.[5]Marvin Vettori, who was expected to face formerStrikeforce Middleweight ChampionRonaldo Souza a week later atUFC 256, served as his replacement.[6] The UFC also opted to reschedule Holland as Vettori's replacement at UFC 256.[7]
John Allan andRoman Dolidze were originally scheduled to meet atUFC 255 in a light heavyweight bout.[8] They were eventually rescheduled for this event.[9]
A bantamweight bout betweenCody Stamann andMerab Dvalishvili was expected to take place at this event.[10] However, it was announced on October 22 that Stamann pulled out due to undisclosed reasons.[11] He was replaced byRaoni Barcelos.[12] The new booking fell through on November 19, as it was revealed that Barcelos was removed from the contest due to a medical suspension related to his latest bout atUFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Teixeira.[13]
A featherweight bout betweenGabriel Benítez andJustin Jaynes was initially scheduled forUFC Fight Night: Felder vs. dos Anjos a month earlier, but the pairing was postponed after Beníteztested positive for COVID-19.[14] The matchup was left intact and took place at this event.[15]
Also scheduled for UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. dos Anjos, a bantamweight bout betweenLouis Smolka andJosé Alberto Quiñónez was cancelled after Smolka pulled out of their fight as a result of ill-effects from his weight cut on the day of the event.[16] They were then rescheduled for this event.[17]
Maryna Moroz was expected to faceTaila Santos in a women's flyweight bout at this event.[18] However, it was announced on November 18 that Moroz had to pull out andMontana De La Rosa would be her replacement.[19] Just hours before the event, the UFC decided to remove the fight after one of De La Rosa's cornermen tested positive for COVID-19.[20] Santos was then rescheduled to faceGillian Robertson two weeks later atUFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Neal.[21]
A women's bantamweight bout between formerUFC Women's Bantamweight Championship challengerBethe Correia andWu Yanan was expected to take place at this event.[22] However, due tovisa issues, they were rescheduled forUFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Kattar on January 16, 2021.[23]
At the weigh-ins, former interimUFC Light Heavyweight Championship challengerOvince Saint Preux weighed in at 207.5 pounds, one and a half pounds over the light heavyweight non-title fight limit. His bout proceeded at a catchweight and he was fined 20% of his individual purse, which went to his opponentJamahal Hill.[24]
Along with the cancellation of the De La Rosa/Santos bout, two other fights were also removed from the event – a featherweight bout betweenNate Landwehr andMovsar Evloev, as well as a flyweight bout betweenCody Durden and Jimmy Flick.[25] The former was due to Evloev testing positive for COVID-19.[26] The latter was due to a non-COVID related medical issue with Durden, before being rescheduled for UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Neal.[27][28]
| Main card (ESPN2 / ESPN+) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Middleweight | Marvin Vettori | def. | Jack Hermansson | Decision (unanimous) (49–46, 49–46, 49–45) | 5 | 5:00 | |
| Catchweight (207.5 lb) | Jamahal Hill | def. | Ovince Saint Preux | TKO (punches) | 2 | 3:37 | |
| Lightweight | Gabriel Benítez | def. | Justin Jaynes | TKO (knee to the body and elbows) | 1 | 4:06 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Roman Dolidze | def. | John Allan | Decision (split) (28–29, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Jordan Leavitt | def. | Matt Wiman | KO (slam) | 1 | 0:22 | |
| Preliminary card (ESPN2 / ESPN+) | |||||||
| Bantamweight | Louis Smolka | def. | José Alberto Quiñónez | TKO (punches) | 2 | 2:15 | |
| Featherweight | Ilia Topuria | def. | Damon Jackson | KO (punches) | 1 | 2:38 | |
| Heavyweight | Jake Collier | def. | Gian Villante | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[30]
