| UFC on Fox: Emmett vs. Stephens | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC on Fox: Emmett vs. Stephens | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | February 24, 2018 (2018-02-24) | |||
| Venue | Amway Center | |||
| City | Orlando, Florida | |||
| Attendance | 10,124[1] | |||
| Total gate | $1,064,303.50[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC on Fox: Emmett vs. Stephens (also known asUFC on Fox 28) was amixed martial arts event produced by theUltimate Fighting Championship held on February 24, 2018, atAmway Center inOrlando, Florida, United States.[2]
The event marked the promotion's third visit to Orlando, and first sinceUFC on Fox: dos Anjos vs. Cowboy 2 in December 2015.[3]
The event was headlined by a featherweight bout betweenJosh Emmett andJeremy Stephens.[4]
Jéssica Andrade andKarolina Kowalkiewicz were expected to face in each other in a bout of formerUFC Women's Strawweight Championship challengers.[5] However, on December 27, it was announced thatTecia Torres would be Andrade's opponent instead.[6]
Jake Collier was expected to face promotional newcomerMarcin Prachnio at the event. However, Collier pulled out of the fight in early January citing injury.[7] Prachnio facedSam Alvey.[8]
CurrentInvicta FC Bantamweight ChampionYana Kunitskaya was expected to face2004 Olympic silver medalist in wrestling and formerUFC Women's Bantamweight Championship challengerSara McMann at the event.[9] However, on January 10, it was announced that McMann would faceMarion Reneau instead, after Reneau's original opponent formerInvicta FC Bantamweight Champion andUFC Women's Featherweight Championship challengerTonya Evinger pulled out of their scheduled bout a week earlier atUFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Medeiros.[10]
Former middleweight interim title challenger (as well as2000 Olympic silver medalist and former world champion infreestyle wrestling)Yoel Romero was expected to face formerWSOF Middleweight andLight Heavyweight ChampionDavid Branch at the event. However, on January 13, it was announced that currentUFC Middleweight ChampionRobert Whittaker pulled out of his title defense against formerStrikeforce and UFC Middleweight ChampionLuke Rockhold atUFC 221 due to injury and was replaced by Romero. Due to that change, Branch was rescheduled for a future event.[11]
Ilir Latifi was expected to face former interimUFC Light Heavyweight Championship challengerOvince Saint Preux atUFC on Fox: Jacaré vs. Brunson 2. However, on January 16, Latifi pulled out due to injury and the bout was scrapped.[12] The pairing was then rescheduled for this event.[13]
Gadzhimurad Antigulov was expected to faceAleksandar Rakić at the event. However, Antigulov pulled out of the fight on February 7, and the bout was scrapped.[14]
On February 21, it was announced that a lightweight bout betweenGilbert Burns andOlivier Aubin-Mercier was pulled from the event after the medical team deemed unsafe for Burns to cut the necessary weight for the 156-pound limit.[15]
At the weigh-ins,Alex Perez weighed in at 126.5 pounds, a half pound over the flyweight non-title fight upper limit of 126 pounds. As a result, the bout proceeded at catchweight and Perez was fined 20% of his purse which went to his opponentEric Shelton.[16]
| Main Card (Fox) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Featherweight | Jeremy Stephens | def. | Josh Emmett | KO (elbows) | 2 | 1:35 | |
| Women's Strawweight | Jéssica Andrade | def. | Tecia Torres | Decision (unanimous) (29–27, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Ilir Latifi | def. | Ovince Saint Preux | Technical Submission (standing guillotine choke) | 1 | 3:48 | |
| Welterweight | Max Griffin | def. | Mike Perry | Decision (unanimous) (29–27, 29–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary Card (Fox) | |||||||
| Bantamweight | Brian Kelleher | def. | Renan Barão | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Women's Bantamweight | Marion Reneau | def. | Sara McMann | Submission (triangle choke) | 2 | 3:40 | |
| Women's Strawweight | Angela Hill | def. | Maryna Moroz | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Alan Jouban | def. | Ben Saunders | KO (punch) | 2 | 2:38 | |
| Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
| Light Heavyweight | Sam Alvey | def. | Marcin Prachnio | KO (punch) | 1 | 4:23 | |
| Bantamweight | Rani Yahya | def. | Russell Doane | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | 3 | 2:32 | |
| Catchweight (126.5 lb) | Alex Perez | def. | Eric Shelton | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Manny Bermudez | def. | Albert Morales | Submission (guillotine choke) | 2 | 2:33 | |
The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses:[18]
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 $1,173,000.[19]
^Perez was fined $2,400, 20 percent of his purse for failing to make the required weight for his fight with Eric Shelton.[19]
