UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2

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UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2
The poster for UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateSeptember 16, 2023 (2023-09-16)
VenueT-Mobile Arena
CityParadise, Nevada, United States
Attendance18,766[1]
Total gate$2,265,537.16[1]
Event chronology
UFC 293: Adesanya vs. Strickland UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2 UFC Fight Night: Fiziev vs. Gamrot

UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2 (also known as UFC Fight Night 227, UFC on ESPN+ 85 and Noche UFC) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 16, 2023, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.[2]

Background

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The event celebrated Mexico's independence Day, which included having a variety of fighters of Mexican descent compete at the event; the concept rode the coattails of Las Vegas having traditionally hosted major boxing matches involving Mexican fighters on or around Independence Day.[3]

A UFC Women's Flyweight Championship rematch between current champion Alexa Grasso and former champion Valentina Shevchenko headlined the event.[4] The pair previously met at UFC 285 in March 2023 in which Grasso captured the title via a fourth round submission upset.[5]

A welterweight bout between Shavkat Rakhmonov and former interim UFC Middleweight Championship challenger (also The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen middleweight winner) Kelvin Gastelum was expected to take place at the event.[6] However, Gastelum withdrew after sustaining a facial fracture.[7]

A middleweight bout between Chris Curtis and Anthony Hernandez was expected to take place at the event.[8] However, Curtis withdrew due to a rib injury and was replaced by Roman Kopylov.[9] In turn, Hernandez pulled out of the bout due to a torn ligament and was replaced by Josh Fremd.[10]

A welterweight bout between Daniel Rodriguez and Santiago Ponzinibbio was expected to take place at the event.[11] However, Rodriguez was pulled from the bout by USADA after testing positive for the banned substance ostarine.[12] Ponzinibbio then announced in early September that he would not be competing at the event after all.[13]

A women's strawweight bout between Elise Reed and Cynthia Calvillo was expected to take place at the event.[14] However, Calvillo pulled out due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Iasmin Lucindo in a catchweight bout of 120 pounds.[15] In turn, Reed was removed from the event for undisclosed reason and was replaced by Josefine Lindgren Knutsson.[16] Then, Lucindo withdrew from the event due to an undisclosed injury and newcomer Marnic Mann served as her replacement.[17]

A lightweight bout between Natan Levy and Alex Reyes was scheduled for the event.[18] However, Levy withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reasons and he was replaced by newcomer Charlie Campbell.[19]

Results

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Main card (ESPN+)
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Women's Flyweight Alexa Grasso (c) vs. Valentina Shevchenko Draw (split) (48–47, 47–48, 47–47) 5 5:00 [a]
Welterweight Jack Della Maddalena def. Kevin Holland Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Bantamweight Raul Rosas Jr. def. Terrence Mitchell TKO (punches) 1 0:54
Lightweight Daniel Zellhuber def. Christos Giagos Submission (anaconda choke) 2 3:26
Featherweight Kyle Nelson def. Fernando Padilla Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27) 3 5:00
Preliminary card (ESPN+)
Women's Strawweight Lupita Godinez def. Elise Reed Submission (rear-naked choke) 2 3:30
Middleweight Roman Kopylov def. Josh Fremd KO (punch to the body) 2 4:44
Flyweight Edgar Chairez vs. Daniel Lacerda No Contest (premature stoppage) 1 3:47 [b]
Women's Flyweight Tracy Cortez def. Jasmine Jasudavicius Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) 3 5:00
Lightweight Charlie Campbell def. Alex Reyes TKO (punches) 1 3:38
Women's Strawweight Josefine Lindgren Knutsson def. Marnic Mann Decision (unanimous) (30–24, 30–25, 30–27) 3 5:00
  1. ^ For the UFC Women's Flyweight Championship.
  2. ^ Originally a technical submission (anaconda choke) win for Cháirez; overturned after review due to a referee error.

[20]

Bonus awards

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The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[21]

  • Fight of the Night: No bonus awarded.
  • Performance of the Night: Raúl Rosas Jr., Daniel Zellhuber, Lupita Godinez, Roman Kopylov, and Charlie Campbell

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Mike Bohn (2023-09-17). "Noche UFC post-event facts: Alexa Grasso, Valentina Shevchenko fight to rare title draw". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  2. ^ Staff (2023-06-24). "Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko 2 UFC flyweight title rematch set for September". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  3. ^ "UFC to hold event at Las Vegas Sphere in 2024". ESPN.com. 2023-11-14. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
  4. ^ Abhishek Nambiar (2023-06-29). "Breaking: Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko 2 set to headline UFC card on Mexican Independence Day". sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
  5. ^ Simon Samano (2023-03-05). "UFC 285 results: Alexa Grasso makes Valentina Shevchenko tap out, wins flyweight title in huge upset". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
  6. ^ Damon Martin (2023-06-28). "Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. Kelvin Gastelum set as co-main event for UFC card on Sept. 16". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  7. ^ Nolan King (2023-07-01). "Kelvin Gastelum out of UFC fight vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov due to injury". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  8. ^ Matthew Wells and Nolan King (2023-06-25). "Chris Curtis set to face Anthony Hernandez at September UFC Fight Night event". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
  9. ^ Alexander K. Lee (2023-08-15). "Roman Kopylov replaces Chris Curtis, fights Anthony Hernandez at Noche UFC". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
  10. ^ With Anthony Hernandez out of Noche UFC, Josh Fremd steps in to fight Roman Kopylov (2023-08-23). "With Anthony Hernandez out of Noche UFC, Josh Fremd steps in to fight Roman Kopylov". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
  11. ^ Curtis Calhoun (2023-07-27). "Daniel Rodriguez vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio added To UFC's Mexican independence day card". mmanews.com. Retrieved 2023-08-17.
  12. ^ Staff (2023-08-17). "Daniel Rodriguez announces positive drug test, out of Noche UFC fight with Santiago Ponzinibbio". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2023-08-17.
  13. ^ Max Rhoades (2023-09-08). "Santiago Ponzinibbio out for September 16, Noche UFC: Grasso Vs. Shevchenko 2". nosmokesport.com. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  14. ^ Nolan King (2023-07-14). "Cynthia Calvillo vs. Elise Reed targeted for UFC's Mexican Independence Day card". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
  15. ^ Nolan King (2023-08-21). "Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (Aug. 14-20)". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
  16. ^ Jay Anderson (2023-08-29). "Josefine Knutsson signs with UFC after all, faces Iasmin Lucindo at Noche UFC". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
  17. ^ Jay Anderson (2023-09-08). "Marnic Mann replaces Iasmin Lucindo, faces Josefine Knutsson at Noche UFC". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  18. ^ News Desk (2023-08-10). "Natan Levy vs Alex Reyes reported for Noche UFC on Sept 16". itnwwe.com. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  19. ^ Vipin Raghuwanshi (2023-09-08). "Noche UFC: Natan Levy out, Charlie Campbell debuts vs Alex Reyes". itnwwe.com. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  20. ^ "UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs. Shevchenko 2". Ultimate Fighting Championship. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  21. ^ Staff (2023-09-17). "Noche UFC post-fight bonuses: 5 get additional $50,000 performance bumps". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2023-09-17.