UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. dos Anjos
UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. dos Anjos (also known as UFC Vegas 78 and UFC on ESPN 51) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 12, 2023, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.[2]
| UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. dos Anjos | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
The poster for UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. dos Anjos | ||||
| Information | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | August 12, 2023 | |||
| Venue | UFC Apex | |||
| City | Enterprise, Nevada, United States | |||
| Attendance | Not announced[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background Edit
A welterweight bout between former UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael dos Anjos and Vicente Luque was briefly rumored to headline UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Bueno Silva.[3] However, the pair was moved to this date and served as the headliner.[2]
Chris Daukaus was expected to make his light heavyweight debut against Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 289, but withdrew in early June due to injury.[4] The bout was rescheduled for this event.[5]
A bantamweight bout between Gaston Bolaños and Marcus McGhee was scheduled for this event.[6] However, Bolaños withdrew due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by JP Buys.[7]
Mike Breeden was expected to face Lando Vannata in a lightweight bout at the event.[8] However, Vannata pulled out in early August and was replaced by Terrance McKinney.[9][10]
Da'Mon Blackshear was expected to face Brady Hiestand in a bantamweight bout at the event.[11] However, Hiestand pulled out in early August due to a medical issue and was replaced by Dana White's Contender Series alum Jose Johnson.[12]
At the weigh-ins, Tafon Nchukwi and Josh Fremd missed weight. Nchukwi weighed in at 189.5 pounds and Fremd weighed in at 189 pounds, three and a half pounds and three pounds over the middleweight non-title fight limit respectively. Both of their bouts proceeded at catchweight and each was fined an undisclosed percentage of their purse, which went to their opponents A.J. Dobson and Jamie Pickett respectively.[13]
Results Edit
| Main card (ESPN / ESPN+) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Welterweight | Vicente Luque | def. | Rafael dos Anjos | Decision (unanimous) (49–46, 48–47, 48–47) | 5 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Cub Swanson | def. | Hakeem Dawodu | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Khalil Rountree Jr. | def. | Chris Daukaus | TKO (punches) | 1 | 2:40 | |
| Women's Strawweight | Iasmin Lucindo | def. | Polyana Viana | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | 2 | 3:42 | |
| Catchweight (189.5 lb) | A.J. Dobson | def. | Tafon Nchukwi | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Catchweight (189 lb) | Josh Fremd | def. | Jamie Pickett | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary card (ESPN / ESPN+) | |||||||
| Bantamweight | Marcus McGhee | def. | JP Buys | KO (punch) | 1 | 2:19 | |
| Lightweight | Terrance McKinney | def. | Mike Breeden | TKO (punches) | 1 | 1:25 | |
| Featherweight | Isaac Dulgarian | def. | Francis Marshall | TKO (elbows) | 1 | 4:48 | |
| Heavyweight | Martin Buday | def. | Josh Parisian | Submission (kimura) | 1 | 4:11 | |
| Women's Strawweight | Jaqueline Amorim | def. | Montserrat Ruiz | TKO (elbows and punches) | 3 | 3:41 | |
| Bantamweight | Da'Mon Blackshear | def. | Jose Johnson | Submission (twister) | 1 | 3:47 | |
| Women's Flyweight | Luana Santos | def. | Juliana Miller | TKO (punches) | 1 | 3:41 | |
Bonus awards Edit
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[15]
- Fight of the Night: No bonus awarded.
- Performance of the Night: Khalil Rountree Jr., Iasmin Lucindo, Marcus McGhee, and Da'Mon Blackshear
Aftermath Edit
With seven first-round finishes, this event ties the record for most first-round finishes in a single UFC event.[1]
See also Edit
References Edit
- ^ a b Mike Bohn (2023-08-13). "UFC on ESPN 51 post-event facts: Event ties modern-era record for first-round finishes". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
- ^ a b Damon Martin (2023-05-11). "Rafael dos Anjos vs. Vicente Luque postponed to Aug. 12 UFC event". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
- ^ Staff (2023-04-29). "Vicente Luque vs. Rafael dos Anjos headlines UFC Fight Night on July 15". mmajunkie.usatoday. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
- ^ Nolan King (2023-06-02). "Chris Daukaus out of UFC 289 due to injury". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-06-02.
- ^ Jay Anderson (2023-06-07). "Chris Daukaus vs. Khalil Rountree Jr. shifts to August 12 UFC event". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
- ^ Giancarlo Aulino (2023-06-06). "Breaking: Gaston Bolaños set to fight Marcus McGhee at UFC event in August". sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
- ^ Johny Payne (2023-07-01). "BREAKING: JP Buys set to fight Marcus McGhee at UFC Vegas 78 after latter's scheduled bout falls apart". sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
- ^ Newswire (2023-05-12). "Lando Vannata vs. Mike Breeden set for UFC event on August 12". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
- ^ Nolan King (2023-08-02). "Lando Vannata off UFC on ESPN 51 due to injury". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
- ^ Nolan King (2023-08-03). "Terrance McKinney steps in on short notice at UFC on ESPN 51, says manager". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
- ^ Vipin Raghuwanshi (2023-06-23). "Brady Hiestand vs Da'Mon Blackshear Reported for UFC Vegas 78". itnwwe.com. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
- ^ Damon Martin (2023-08-08). "Contender Series veteran Jose Johnson steps in to face Da'Mon Blackshear at UFC Vegas 78". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
- ^ Alexander K. Lee (2023-08-11). "UFC Vegas 78 weigh-in results: Rafael dos Anjos and Vicente Luque on point, two fighters miss badly". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
- ^ "UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. dos Anjos". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
- ^ Matt Erickson (2023-08-12). "UFC on ESPN 51 bonuses: Da'Mon Blackshear twists his way to $50K". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-08-13.