| UFC on ESPN: Holm vs. Aldana | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC on ESPN: Holm vs. Aldana | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | October 4, 2020 (2020-10-04) | |||
| Venue | du Forum | |||
| City | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |||
| Attendance | None (behind closed doors)[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC on ESPN: Holm vs. Aldana (also known asUFC on ESPN 16 andUFC Fight Island 4) was amixed martial arts event produced by theUltimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 4, 2020 at thedu Forum onYas Island,Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.[2][3]
Without fans in attendance, the promotion did not have to worry about the local timing of the event, so the plan was to proceed with normal timing forprime time hours on theeast coast of North America. The main card was scheduled to begin at 6:30 am (October 4) local time in Abu Dhabi, with a full preliminary card beginning at approximately 3:30 amGulf Standard Time.[4]
A women's bantamweight bout between formerUFC Women's Bantamweight ChampionHolly Holm andIrene Aldana served as the event headliner.[5] The pairing was originally scheduled to headlineUFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan. However, it was reported on July 22 that Aldana had pulled out of the fight due to testing positive for COVID-19.[6] Holm was also removed from the card as well, with the pairing left intact and ultimately rescheduled for this event.[7]
Ben Sosoli was briefly linked to a heavyweight bout withYorgan De Castro. However, Sosoli pulled out of the fight in late July citing an eye surgery and was replaced byCarlos Felipe.[8]
A women's bantamweight bout between formerUFC Women's Flyweight ChampionNicco Montaño andJulia Avila was originally scheduled forUFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Oleinik.[9] However, due to Montaño’s coach John Wood testing positive for COVID-19, the bout was rescheduled forUFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Sakai.[10] In turn, it was announced on August 29 that Montaño herself tested positive forthe disease and the bout was once again pushed back to this event.[11] On September 3, it was announced that Montaño withdrew from the bout due to travel restrictions. In turn, Avila was rescheduled to faceSijara Eubanks atUFC Fight Night: Waterson vs. Hill on September 12.[12][13]
A light heavyweight bout between formerUFC Light Heavyweight Championship challengersThiago Santos andGlover Teixeira was initially scheduled to headlineUFC Fight Night: Waterson vs. Hill.[14] However, the pairing was rescheduled for this event after Teixeiratested positive for COVID-19 a week prior to the fight.[15] On September 15, the bout was postponed again as Santos tested positive for the disease.[16]
Charles Oliveira was expected to faceBeneil Dariush in a lightweight bout at the event. However, Oliveira pulled out of the fight in early September for undisclosed reasons and the bout was scrapped.[17]
A bantamweight bout betweenCasey Kenney andAlateng Heili was originally expected to take place a week earlier atUFC 253.[18] However, it was later moved to this event due to undisclosed reasons.[19]
Danaa Batgerel was expected to faceKyler Phillips in a bantamweight bout at the event. However, it was announced on September 21 that Batgerel pulled out due totravel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Mongolia.[20] He was replaced by promotional newcomer Cameron Else.[21]
A heavyweight bout between formerUFC Heavyweight ChampionAndrei Arlovski andTanner Boser was briefly scheduled for this event, but was later moved toUFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Teixeira due to Arlovski being ill.[22]
A middleweight bout betweenTom Breese and Roman Kopylov was originally scheduled for this event, but Kopylov was removed from the bout on September 27 due to undisclosed reasons and replaced by KB Bhullar. The bout subsequently took place a week later atUFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen.[23][24]
| Main card (ESPN / ESPN+) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Women's Bantamweight | Holly Holm | def. | Irene Aldana | Decision (unanimous) (50–44, 50–45, 50–45) | 5 | 5:00 | |
| Heavyweight | Carlos Felipe | def. | Yorgan De Castro | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Women’s Bantamweight | Germaine de Randamie | def. | Julianna Peña | Technical Submission (guillotine choke) | 3 | 3:25 | |
| Bantamweight | Kyler Phillips | def. | Cameron Else | TKO (punches and elbows) | 2 | 0:44 | |
| Middleweight | Duško Todorović | def. | Dequan Townsend | TKO (punches) | 2 | 3:15 | |
| Preliminary card (ESPN+) | |||||||
| Welterweight | Carlos Condit | def. | Court McGee | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Charles Jourdain | vs. | Joshua Culibao | Draw (split) (30–27, 28–29, 28–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Middleweight | Nassourdine Imavov | def. | Jordan Williams | Decision (unanimous) (29–27, 29–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Women’s Strawweight | Loma Lookboonmee | def. | Jinh Yu Frey | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Casey Kenney | def. | Alateng Heili | Decision (unanimous) (30–25, 30–26, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Luigi Vendramini | def. | Jessin Ayari | TKO (head kick and punches) | 1 | 1:12 | |
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[26]
