2021 MMA event
UFC 263: Adesanya vs. Vettori 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 12, 2021, at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona , United States.[ 3] [ 4]
Background
The event was the second that the promotion has contested in Glendale, following UFC on Fox: Poirier vs. Gaethje in April 2018.[ 4] Zuffa had previously hosted the final World Extreme Cagefighting event, WEC 53 , at the arena in December 2010.[ 4]
A UFC Middleweight Championship bout between then champion Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori headlined the event.[ 5] The pair previously met at UFC on Fox: Poirier vs. Gaethje , where Adesanya won via split decision.[ 6]
A UFC Flyweight Championship rematch between champion Deiveson Figueiredo and former title challenger Brandon Moreno took place as the co-main event.[ 3] The pairing previously met in December 2020 at UFC 256 , where Figueiredo retained the title after the bout was scored a majority draw.[ 7]
A light heavyweight bout between Paul Craig and Jamahal Hill took place at the event.[ 8] The pairing was previously scheduled to take place at UFC on ESPN: Brunson vs. Holland , but Hill withdrew from that event on March 10 after testing positive for COVID-19 .[ 9]
A welterweight fight between Leon Edwards and former UFC Lightweight Championship challenger Nate Diaz (also The Ultimate Fighter 5 lightweight winner) was expected to take place at UFC 262 .[ 10] However, Diaz pulled out due to a minor injury in early May and the bout took place at this event.[ 11] Despite the different date, the pairing retained its original status, marking the first time in UFC history that a non-title bout other than the main event was scheduled for five rounds.[ 12]
A women's bantamweight bout between Karol Rosa and Sijara Eubanks was scheduled to take place at the event.[ 13] However, Rosa pulled out of the fight in late-May citing an eye injury. In turn, Eubanks was removed from the card and will face Priscila Cachoeira six weeks later at UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Dillashaw instead.[ 14]
A lightweight bout between Frank Camacho and Matt Frevola was originally scheduled to take place at UFC on ESPN: Blaydes vs. Volkov in June 2020, but Frevola was pulled from the fight during the week leading up to the event after teammate and cornerman Billy Quarantillo tested positive for COVID-19. Despite two negative tests, Frevola was removed from the bout in an abundance of caution.[ 15] They were then rescheduled for this event.[ 16] In turn, Camacho pulled out of the fight four days before the event after being injured in a car accident. Frevola faced promotional newcomer Terrance McKinney instead.[ 17]
At the weigh-ins, Steven Peterson weighed in at 148.5 pounds, two and a half pounds over the featherweight non-title fight limit. His bout proceeded at catchweight and he was fined 20% of his purse, which went to his opponent Chase Hooper .[ 18]
Results
Main card
Weight class
Method
Round
Time
Notes
Middleweight
Israel Adesanya (c)
def.
Marvin Vettori
Decision (unanimous) (50–45, 50–45, 50–45)
5
5:00
[ a]
Flyweight
Brandon Moreno
def.
Deiveson Figueiredo (c)
Submission (rear-naked choke)
3
2:26
[ b]
Welterweight
Leon Edwards
def.
Nate Diaz
Decision (unanimous) (49–46, 49–46, 49–46)
5
5:00
Welterweight
Belal Muhammad
def.
Demian Maia
Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 29–28)
3
5:00
Light Heavyweight
Paul Craig
def.
Jamahal Hill
TKO (elbows and punches)
1
1:59
Preliminary card (ESPN / ESPN+)
Lightweight
Brad Riddell
def.
Drew Dober
Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)
3
5:00
Light Heavyweight
Eryk Anders
def.
Darren Stewart
Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–27, 29–27)
3
5:00
Women's Flyweight
Lauren Murphy
def.
Joanne Calderwood
Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28)
3
5:00
Featherweight
Movsar Evloev
def.
Hakeem Dawodu
Decision (unanimous) (29–27, 29–27, 29–27)
3
5:00
Early preliminary card (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass)
Women's Bantamweight
Pannie Kianzad
def.
Alexis Davis
Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28)
3
5:00
Lightweight
Terrance McKinney
def.
Matt Frevola
KO (punches)
1
0:07
Catchweight (148.5 lb)
Steven Peterson
def.
Chase Hooper
Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28)
3
5:00
Lightweight
Farès Ziam
def.
Luigi Vendramini
Decision (majority) (29–28, 29–28, 28–28)
3
5:00
Heavyweight
Carlos Felipe
def.
Jake Collier
Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28)
3
5:00
[ 19]
Bonus awards
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[ 20]
Fight of the Night: Brad Riddell vs. Drew Dober
Performance of the Night: Brandon Moreno and Paul Craig
Reported payout
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. Total disclosed purses for the event was $3,233,000.[ 21]
Israel Adesanya: $500,000 (no win bonus) def. Marvin Vettori: $350,000
Brandon Moreno: $200,000 (includes $100,000 win bonus) def. Deiveson Figueiredo: $210,000
Leon Edwards: $220,000 (includes $110,000 win bonus) def. Nate Diaz: $250,000
Belal Muhammad: $160,000 (includes $80,000) def. Demian Maia: $175,000
Paul Craig: $110,000 (includes $55,000 win bonus) def. Jamahal Hill: $28,000
Brad Riddell: $80,000 (includes $40,000 win bonus) def. Drew Dober: $87,000
Eryk Anders: $150,000 (includes $75,000 win bonus) def. Darren Stewart: $45,000
Lauren Murphy: $140,000 (includes $70,000 win bonus) def. Joanne Calderwood: $51,000
Movsar Evloev: $72,000 (includes $36,000 win bonus) def. Hakeem Dawodu: $55,000
Pannie Kinziad: $56,000 (includes $28,000 win bonus) def. Alexis Davis: $43,000
Terrance McKinney: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus) def. Matt Frevola: $23,000
Steven Peterson: $46,000 (includes $23,000 win bonus) def. Chase Hooper: $37,000 ¹
Farès Ziam: $28,000 (includes $14,000 win bonus) def. Luigi Vendramini: $15,000
Carlos Felipe: $50,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus) def. Jake Collier: $28,000
¹ Although not recognized on the official pay sheet, Steven Peterson was fined 20 percent of his purse ($9,200) for failing to make the required weight for his fight with Chase Hooper. That money was issued to Hooper, an ADOG official confirmed. [ 18]
Records set
The event broke the record for the most decisions on a single UFC card with 11, breaking the five-way tie with UFC 169 , UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Mousasi , UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Bisping , UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura , and UFC on ESPN: dos Anjos vs. Edwards and later UFC Fight Night: Vieira vs. Tate . This event was also the longest UFC event with 3:19:32 of fight time.[ 1]
See also
References
^ a b c Mike Bohn (2021-06-13). "UFC 263 post-event facts: Decision-heavy card shatters record for most fight time" . mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-06-13 .
^ Damon Martin (2021-06-20). "UFC 263 reportedly sells 600,000 pay-per-views worldwide" . mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-06-20 .
^ a b Ariel Helwani (2021-02-25). "UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo to again fight Brandon Moreno on June 12" . espn.com . Retrieved 2021-02-25 .
^ a b c Richard Obert (2021-05-01). "UFC 263 coming to Gila River Arena in Glendale on June 12" . azcentral.com. Retrieved 2021-05-01 .
^ Brett Okamoto (2021-04-24). "UFC finalizing middleweight title fight between Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori, Dana White says" . espn.com . Retrieved 2021-04-24 .
^ Andrew Pearson (2018-04-14). "UFC on Fox 29 results: Israel Adesanya outlasts Marvin Vettori for first career decision win" . mmamania.com. Retrieved 2021-04-24 .
^ Brent Brookhouse (2020-12-13). "UFC 256 results, highlights: Deiveson Figueiredo, Brandon Moreno fight to a draw in an instant classic" . cbssports.com. Retrieved 2021-02-25 .
^ Staff (2021-03-24). "Multiple UFC fights announced, including Craig vs. Hill" . mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2021-03-24 . (in Dutch)
^ Farrah Hannoun (2021-03-10). "UFC on ESPN 21 co-main event scrapped after Jamahal Hill forced to withdraw from Paul Craig bout" . mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-03-10 .
^ Nolan King and Mike Bohn (2021-03-30). "UFC 262 books Nate Diaz vs. Leon Edwards for five-round co-main event in Houston" . mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-03-30 .
^ Damon Martin (2021-05-03). "Leon Edwards vs. Nate Diaz rescheduled from UFC 262 in May to UFC 263 in June" . mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-05-03 .
^ Marc Raimondi (2021-05-04). "Nate Diaz battling minor injury; fight vs. Leon Edwards moved to UFC 263 in June" . espn.com . Retrieved 2021-05-06 .
^ Raphael Marinho (2021-03-18). "UFC sets duel between Karol Rosa and Sijara Eubanks for UFC 263, June 12" . globoesporte.globo.com. Retrieved 2021-05-28 . (in Portuguese)
^ Raphael Marinho and Zeca Azevedo (2021-05-28). "UFC: Karol Rosa injures her eye and Pedrita replaces her against Sijara Eubanks" . globoesporte.globo.com. Retrieved 2021-05-28 . (in Portuguese)
^ Farah Hannoun (2020-06-18). "Matt Frevola out of UFC on ESPN 11 after cornerman Billy Quarantillo tests positive for COVID-19" . mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-06-18 .
^ Alex Behunin (2021-04-18). "Frank Camacho vs. Matt Frevola set for UFC 263" . cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2021-06-08 .
^ Matthew Wells, John Morgan and Nolan King (2021-06-08). "Frank Camacho in car accident, out of UFC 263; Terrance McKinney agrees to fight Matt Frevola" . mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-06-08 .
^ a b Alexander K. Lee (2021-06-11). "UFC 263 weigh-in results: Deiveson Figueiredo makes weight at last minute for flyweight championship bout" . mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2021-06-11 .
^ "UFC 263: Adesanya vs. Vettori 2" . Ultimate Fighting Championship. 24 April 2021. Retrieved 2021-06-12 .
^ Staff (2021-06-13). "UFC 263 bonuses: That wicked arm injury Paul Craig delivered was worth an extra $50,000" . mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-06-13 .
^ Tristen Critchfield (2021-06-21). "UFC 263 Salaries: Adesanya ($500K), Vettori ($350K) top event payroll" . sherdog.com. Retrieved 2021-06-22 .
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