| UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Rozenstruik | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Rozenstruik | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | March 28, 2020 (cancelled) | |||
| Venue | Nationwide Arena | |||
| City | Columbus, Ohio, United States | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Rozenstruik was a plannedmixed martial arts event produced by theUltimate Fighting Championship originally to take place on March 28, 2020 atNationwide Arena inColumbus, Ohio, United States.[1][2] Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the event was eventually postponed(see section below).[3]
The promotion was expected to return toOhio for the first time sinceUFC 203 in 2016 and to Columbus for the first time in over 11 years, sinceUFC 96 in 2009.[1]Zuffa previously hosted aWorld Extreme Cagefighting event,WEC 47, at the venue in March 2010.[4]
A heavyweight bout between formerUFC Heavyweight Championship challengerFrancis Ngannou andJairzinho Rozenstruik was expected to headline the event.[5]
Punahele Soriano was briefly linked to a middleweight bout withEric Spicely at the event. However, Soriano was removed from the card for undisclosed reasons and replaced by Roman Kopylov.[6]
Philip Rowe was briefly linked to a welterweight bout withLaureano Staropoli at the event. However, Rowe was removed from the card in late February for undisclosed reasons and replaced byKhaos Williams.[7]
Carlos Felipe was expected to faceJeff Hughes in a heavyweight bout at the event. However, Felipe was removed from the card in late February for undisclosed reasons and replaced byTanner Boser.[7]
The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate bantamweight winnerJulianna Peña was expected to faceAspen Ladd at the event. However, Peña pulled out of the fight in early March citing an injury. In turn, promotion officials elected to remove Ladd from the card entirely and the pairing is expected to be rescheduled at a future event.[8]
A bantamweight bout between formerUFC Bantamweight ChampionCody Garbrandt andRaphael Assunção was scheduled for the event.[9] However, Garbrandt pulled out on March 12 due to kidney issues.[10]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, OhiogovernorMike DeWine issued an order restricting mass gatherings and sporting events on March 12, thus the UFC decided to move the event toLas Vegas where it would take placebehind closed doors at theUFC APEX facility, which the organisation owns and is home of training and production facilities.[11] UFC presidentDana White then announced on March 15 that this event would have to be moved once again as theNevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) decided to provisionally ban events until March 25, when a new meeting would discuss future plans in what could jeopardize this event's realization.[12] On March 16, it was confirmed that the event was postponed after a letter from White to employees was shared to the public.[3] This was the first time that the promotion was forced to cancel events due tovis major. The UFC also cancelled two events scheduled forMarch 21 andApril 11.[13] White assured on March 24 that all cancelled fights will be rescheduled for future events.[14]
| Fight card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Heavyweight | Francis Ngannou | vs. | Jairzinho Rozenstruik | [a] | |||
| Welterweight | Matt Brown | vs. | Miguel Baeza | [b] | |||
| Heavyweight | Greg Hardy | vs. | Yorgan de Castro | [c] | |||
| Light Heavyweight | Sam Alvey | vs. | Khalil Rountree Jr. | [d] | |||
| Bantamweight | Cody Stamann | vs. | Raoni Barcelos | ||||
| Bantamweight | Louis Smolka | vs. | Davey Grant | [e] | |||
| Bantamweight | Marlon Vera | vs. | Eddie Wineland | [f] | |||
| Welterweight | Laureano Staropoli | vs. | Khaos Williams | ||||
| Women's Strawweight | Tecia Torres | vs. | Mizuki Inoue | ||||
| Middleweight | Eric Spicely | vs. | Roman Kopylov | ||||
| Heavyweight | Jeff Hughes | vs. | Tanner Boser | ||||
| Bantamweight | Martin Day | vs. | Randy Costa | ||||
