| UFC on ESPN: Overeem vs. Harris | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC on ESPN: Overeem vs. Harris | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | May 16, 2020 (2020-05-16) | |||
| Venue | VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena | |||
| City | Jacksonville, Florida, United States | |||
| Attendance | None (behind closed doors)[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC on ESPN: Overeem vs. Harris (also known asUFC on ESPN 8) was amixed martial arts event produced by theUltimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 16, 2020 atVyStar Veterans Memorial Arena inJacksonville, Florida, United States.[2] It was originally planned to take place as a Fight Night onESPN+ atPechanga Arena inSan Diego, California.[3] Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, UFC presidentDana White announced on April 9 that starting withUFC 249, all future events were indefinitely postponed(see section below).[4] On April 24, the event was confirmed for Jacksonville on its original date.[2]
While not officially announced by the organization, the promotion was targeting a lightweight bout between former interimUFC Lightweight ChampionDustin Poirier andDan Hooker to serve as the event headliner.[5] However, it was reported on April 8 that the main event was expected to be a heavyweight bout between the2010 K-1 World Grand Prix Champion, formerStrikeforce Heavyweight Champion andUFC Heavyweight Championship challengerAlistair Overeem andWalt Harris.[6] The pairing was previously scheduled to headlineUFC on ESPN: Overeem vs. Rozenstruik on December 7, 2019 but Harris pulled out of the fight in early November, citing the disappearance anddeath of his stepdaughter in her home state ofAlabama.[7][8] They were later booked to headlineUFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris on April 11, but the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9]
Punahele Soriano was expected to faceAnthony Hernandez at the event. However, Soriano pulled out due to undisclosed reasons. Hernandez instead facedKevin Holland.[10]
Due totravel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, some Brazilian fighters were unable to compete due to visa issues at the original event – Lara Procópio (who was expected to faceCortney Casey in a women's flyweight bout), formerKSW Women's Flyweight ChampionAriane Lipski and Luana Carolina (who were expected to meet at the same weight).[11]
The event was originally expected to take place at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California.[3] On April 2, theCalifornia Department of Consumer Affairs, the division of the state government that includes theCalifornia State Athletic Commission (CSAC), extended a ban on combat sports events through the end of May due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making the venue unable to host the fight card.[12] The event was officially removed from California on April 20.[13] On April 24, the UFC confirmed the new UFC 249 for May 9 in Jacksonville,Florida, along with two other events onMay 13 and 16 for the same location.[2][14]
The UFC confirmed on May 1 that Overeem and Harris would headline this event, to be broadcast onESPN.[15] It included fighters that were pulled from other events previously cancelled, as well as the following bouts:[15]
Some fights that were originally expected to take place at this event on its first booking, but will be rescheduled for future cards include a flyweight bout betweenAlex Perez andKai Kara-France, as well as a featherweight bout betweenJared Gordon and Matt Sayles.[16][17]
Mike Davis was scheduled to faceGiga Chikadze at the event. However, Davis was removed from the card on May 14 and replaced by promotional newcomerIrwin Rivera.[18]
| Main Card (ESPN) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Heavyweight | Alistair Overeem | def. | Walt Harris | TKO (punches) | 2 | 3:00 | |
| Women's Strawweight | Cláudia Gadelha | def. | Angela Hill | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Dan Ige | def. | Edson Barboza | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Middleweight | Krzysztof Jotko | def. | Eryk Anders | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Song Yadong | def. | Marlon Vera | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary Card (ESPN / ESPN+) | |||||||
| Welterweight | Miguel Baeza | def. | Matt Brown | TKO (punches) | 2 | 0:18 | |
| Middleweight | Kevin Holland | def. | Anthony Hernandez | TKO (knees and punches) | 1 | 0:39 | |
| Featherweight | Giga Chikadze | def. | Irwin Rivera | Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Nate Landwehr | def. | Darren Elkins | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Women's Flyweight | Cortney Casey | def. | Mara Romero Borella | Submission (armbar) | 1 | 3:36 | |
| Heavyweight | Rodrigo Nascimento | def. | Don'Tale Mayes | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 2 | 2:05 | |
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[20]
The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the Florida State Boxing Commission. 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 $1,599,000.[21]
