''UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira'' was a planned

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

event produced by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

originally planned to take place on April 25, 2020 at Pinnacle Bank Arena in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...

, United States. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, UFC president

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who is the CEO and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at . Out ...

announced on April 9 that starting with

UFC 249 ''UFC 249: Ferguson vs. Gaethje'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 9, 2020 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It was originally planned to ...

, all future events were indefinitely postponed. The event was officially cancelled on April 20.

Background

A light heavyweight bout between former

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight clas ...

challengers Anthony Smith and

Glover Teixeira Glover Lucas Teixeira (; born 28 October 1979) is a Brazilian-American former professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Light Heavyweig ...

was expected to serve as the event headliner. A lightweight bout between Christos Giagos and Alan Patrick was scheduled for the event. However, Giagos pulled out of the fight on March 19 citing injury and was replaced by Frank Camacho. A light heavyweight bout between former interim title challenger Ovince Saint Preux and Shamil Gamzatov was scheduled for the event. However, Gamzatov was forced to pull out of the event due to

travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic During the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries and territories imposed quarantines, entry bans, or other travel restrictions for citizens of or recent travelers to the most affected areas. Some countries and territories imposed global restric ...

. He was replaced by Ion Cuțelaba. A heavyweight bout between Rodrigo Nascimento and Don’Tale Mayes was expected to take place at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris. However, the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pairing was rescheduled for this event. Also due to travel restrictions, some Brazilian fighters were unable to compete due to visa issues on the original date – Ariane Carnelossi (who was expected to face

Mackenzie Dern Mackenzie Lynne Dern (born March 24, 1993) is an American and Brazilian professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner currently competing in the women's Strawweight (MMA), Strawweight division of the U ...

in a women's strawweight bout) and

Raphael Pessoa Raphael Pessoa (born March 9, 1989) is a Brazilian mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight (MMA), Heavyweight division. He also formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Ultimate Fighting Championshi ...

(who was expected to face Alexander Romanov in a heavyweight bout). Carnelossi was replaced by Hannah Cifers.

Cancelled fight card

References

{{2020 in mixed martial arts UFC Fight Night Mixed martial arts in Nebraska Sports in Lincoln, Nebraska April 2020 sports events in the United States 2020 in mixed martial arts 2020 in sports in Nebraska Cancelled Ultimate Fighting Championship events

UFC Fight Night The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The large ...

Background

Cancelled fight card

See also

References