''UFC 271: Adesanya vs. Whittaker 2'' was a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

event produced by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship 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 Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

that took place on February 12, 2022 at the

Toyota Center Toyota Center is an indoor arena located in Houston. It is named after the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The arena is home to the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and it was once the home of the Houston ...

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, United States.

Background

UFC Middleweight 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 classe ...

rematch between then champion

Israel Adesanya Israel Mobolaji Odunayo Oluwafemi Temitayo Owolabi Adesanya (born 22 July 1989) is a New Zealand professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer, and former boxer with multiple championships in all three disciplines. As a mixed martial artist, h ...

and former champion Robert Whittaker (also The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes welterweight winner) served as the event's headliner. The pairing met previously in October 2019 at

UFC 243 ''UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 6, 2019, at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Background The event was the ...

, when then interim champion Adesanya knocked out Whittaker in the second round to unify the middleweight title. A flyweight bout between former

UFC Flyweight 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 classe ...

challenger Alex Perez and

Matt Schnell Matthew Christopher Schnell (born January 15, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Schnell formerly competed for Legacy Fighting Allia ...

was expected to take place at this event. They were previously scheduled to meet on four occasions (

UFC 262 ''UFC 262: Oliveira vs. Chandler'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 15, 2021 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, United States. Background A UFC Lightweight Championship b ...

, UFC on ESPN: Barboza vs. Chikadze, UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Till and

UFC 269 ''UFC 269: Oliveira vs. Poirier'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 11, 2021, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United State ...

), but the contest was cancelled each time due to different reasons. At the weigh-ins, Perez came in at 128 pounds and did not attempt to try again, resulting in Matt Schnell refusing to take the catchweight bout and the bout being scrapped. A potential middleweight title eliminator bout between

Jared Cannonier Jared Cannonier (born March 16, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently fights in the Middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of November 15, 2022, he is #3 in the UFC middleweight ran ...

and

Derek Brunson Derek Brunson (born January 4, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of September 5, 2022, he is #5 in the UFC middleweight ran ...

was scheduled for

UFC 270 ''UFC 270: Ngannou vs. Gane'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 22, 2022 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Background A UFC Heavyweight Championship title unificati ...

. However, the pairing was moved to this event due to undisclosed reasons. 2016 Olympic silver medalist in wrestling Mark Madsen and

Vinc Pichel Vincent Alan Pichel (born November 23, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2009, Pichel was also a contestan ...

were expected to meet in a lightweight bout. However, they were pushed back to

UFC 273 ''UFC 273: Volkanovski vs. The Korean Zombie'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 9, 2022, at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Backgroun ...

due to unknown reasons. A welterweight between Orion Cosce and Mike Mathetha was scheduled for the event. However, Cosce was pulled from the bout due to undisclosed reasons and replaced by

Jeremiah Wells Jeremiah Wells (born October 30, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Wells was born in 1986 in West Hazelton, Pennsylvania, a city of about 25,000, ...

. A light heavyweight bout between

Maxim Grishin Maxim Anthony Grishin (born May 2, 1984) is a Russian mixed martial artist and kickboxer who competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Grishin was the former M-1 Global Eastern Europe Heavyweight Champion. ...

and

Ed Herman Edward Benson Herman (born October 2, 1980) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2002, Herman was a finalis ...

was scheduled for this event. However in late January, Herman withdrew due to unknown reasons and was replaced by William Knight. At the weigh-ins, Knight weighed in at 218 pounds, 12 pounds over the light heavyweight non-title fight limit, marking the biggest weight miss in UFC history. As a result, the bout was shifted to heavyweight and Knight was fined 40% of his purse, which went to Grishin.

Results

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses. * Fight of the Night: Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. Sergey Morozov * Performance of the Night: Tai Tuivasa and Jared Cannonier

References

{{2022 in mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship events 2022 in mixed martial arts February 2022 sports events in the United States Mixed martial arts in Houston Sports competitions in Houston 2022 in sports in Texas

Background

Results

Bonus awards

See also

References