| UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Velasquez | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Velasquez | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | February 17, 2019 (2019-02-17) | |||
| Venue | Talking Stick Resort Arena | |||
| City | Phoenix, Arizona | |||
| Attendance | 14,269[1] | |||
| Total gate | $1,400,000[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Velasquez (also known asUFC on ESPN 1) was amixed martial arts event produced by theUltimate Fighting Championship that was held on February 17, 2019 atTalking Stick Resort Arena, now known asFootprint Center inPhoenix, Arizona, United States.[2]
A heavyweight bout between former two-timeUFC Heavyweight ChampionCain Velasquez and former title challengerFrancis Ngannou served as the event headliner. This is Cain Velasquez's final match before moving to the WWE.[3][4]
As a result of the cancellation ofUFC 233, fights betweenCortney Casey andCynthia Calvillo,James Vick andPaul Felder,Benito Lopez andManny Bermudez andAleksandra Albu andEmily Whitmire respectively, were rescheduled for this event.[5][6]
A women's flyweight bout between formerInvicta FC Bantamweight ChampionLauren Murphy andAshlee Evans-Smith was expected to take place at the event. However, on December 19, Murphy announced she will need more time off to recover from surgery and won't make it to this event.[7] On December 20, it was reported thatAndrea Lee would replace Murphy against Evans-Smith.[8]
At the weigh-ins, formerUFC Bantamweight ChampionRenan Barão,Manny Bermudez and formerInvicta FC Atomweight ChampionJessica Penne missed the required weight for their respective fights. Barão weighted at 138 pounds and Bermudez weighted at 140 pounds, 2 pounds and 4 pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit of 136 respectively. Meanwhile, Penne weighed in at 118 pounds, 2 pounds over the strawweight non-title fight limit of 116. All three bouts were set to continue at catchweight. Barão and Penne were fined 20% of their purse and Bermudez was fined 30% of his purse which went to their opponents.[9]
In turn, Penne pulled out of her bout againstJodie Esquibel, as she severely sprained her ankle while warming up the morning of the event. The bout was subsequently scrapped.[10]
| Main Card (ESPN) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Heavyweight | Francis Ngannou | def. | Cain Velasquez | KO (punches) | 1 | 0:26 | |
| Lightweight | Paul Felder | def. | James Vick | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Women's Strawweight | Cynthia Calvillo | def. | Cortney Casey | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Kron Gracie | def. | Alex Caceres | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 1 | 2:06 | |
| Welterweight | Vicente Luque | def. | Bryan Barberena | TKO (knees and punches) | 3 | 4:54 | |
| Featherweight | Andre Fili | def. | Myles Jury | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary Card (ESPN) | |||||||
| Bantamweight | Aljamain Sterling | def. | Jimmie Rivera | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Catchweight (140 lb) | Manny Bermudez | def. | Benito Lopez | Submission (guillotine choke) | 1 | 3:09 | |
| Women's Flyweight | Andrea Lee | def. | Ashlee Evans-Smith | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Lightweight | Nik Lentz | def. | Scott Holtzman | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Early Preliminary Card (ESPN+) | |||||||
| Catchweight (138 lb) | Luke Sanders | def. | Renan Barão | KO (punches) | 2 | 1:01 | |
| Women's Strawweight | Emily Whitmire | def. | Aleksandra Albu | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 1 | 1:01 | |
The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses:[12]
The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported by the Arizona Department of Gaming. 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 $1,871,000.[13]
