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 May 6, 2023, at the
Prudential Center
Prudential Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the central business district of Newark, New Jersey. Opened in 2007, it is the home of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the men's basketball program of Seton Hal ...
in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.
UFC Bantamweight 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 ...
bout between current champion
Aljamain Sterling
Aljamain Antoine Sterlinghttp://boxing.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/boxingnvgov/content/results/2014_Results/02-22-14MMA.pdf (born July 31, 1989) is a Jamaican-American mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division in the Ul ...
Henry Cejudo
Henry Cejudo (born February 9, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist and freestyle wrestler. He is the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight Champion and Bantamweight Champion. He is the fourth UFC fighter to h ...
Zhalgas Zhumagulov
Zhalgas Mukhambet (born August 29, 1988) better known as Zhalgas Zhumagulov, is a retired Kazakh mixed martial artist who competed in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Zhumagulov ...
and
Nate Maness
Nate Maness (born June 27, 1991), is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Maness made his amateur debut in 2013, winning four bou ...
were expected to meet in a flyweight bout at the event. However, Maness pulled out in early April due to injury and was replaced by Rafael Estevam, who was originally scheduled to fight two weeks earlier at UFC Fight Night: Pavlovich vs. Blaydes before an injury also took his opponent. In turn, the bout was scratched the day before the event due to Estevam having weight management issues.
A featherweight bout between
Bryce Mitchell
Bryce Andrew Mitchell (born October 4, 1994) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Mitchell appeared in the reality television series '' ...
and Jonathan Pearce was scheduled for the event. However, Pearce was forced to withdraw from the event due to injury. He was replaced by
Movsar Evloev
Movsar Evloev (born February 11, 1994) is a Russian mixed martial artist, who is currently competing in the featherweight division of the UFC. A professional since 2014, he has also competed at M-1 Global, where he is the former bantamweight ch ...
. Mitchell and Evloev were previously scheduled to headline UFC Fight Night: Rodriguez vs. Lemos in November 2022, but Evloev withdrew due to injury. In turn, Mitchell withdrew on the week of the event for an undisclosed shoulder injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer Diego Lopes.
A lightweight bout between former
UFC Lightweight Champion
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 ...
Charles Oliveira
Charles Oliveira da Silvahttp://boxing.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/boxingnvgov/content/results/2014_Results/12-12-14MMA.pdf (born October 17, 1989) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner. He currently com ...
and
Beneil Dariush
Beneil Khobier Dariush (born May 6, 1989) is an Assyrian-American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of October 24, 2022, he is #4 in the UFC lightw ...
was expected to take place as the co-main event. However, Oliveira withdrew due to an undisclosed injury. The fight was later rescheduled and moved to UFC 289.
Former
UFC Welterweight 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
Gilbert Burns
Gilbert Alexander Pontes Burns (born 20 July 1986) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and submission grappler. He currently competes in the Welterweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As a grappler, Burns ...
and
Belal Muhammad
Belal Muhammad (born July 9, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who is currently competing in the UFC welterweight division. A professional since 2012, he has also competed for Bellator and Titan FC. As of October 24, 2022, he is #4 ...
competed in a five-round welterweight bout in the co-main event.
A bantamweight bout between Daniel Santos and
Johnny Muñoz Jr.
Johnny Muñoz Jr (born February 16, 1993) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Background
With his parents founding the BJJ school CQuence Jiu Jitsu in Norco, Califor ...
was expected to take place at the event, but it was scratched after Santos withdrew due to an undisclosed injury.
At the weigh-ins, Joseph Holmes weighed in at 189 pounds, three pounds over the middleweight non-title fight limit. His bout proceeded at catchweight and he was fined 20% of his purse which went to his opponent Claudio Ribeiro.
Results
Bonus awards
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.
*Fight of the Night: Movsar Evloev vs. Diego Lopes
*Performance of the Night: Yan Xiaonan and Matt Frevola
Aftermath
On June 27, it was announced by United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) that Braxton Smith was suspended for two years after a urine sample he submitted tested positive for exogenous administration of
testosterone
Testosterone is the primary sex hormone and anabolic steroid in males. In humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of male reproductive tissues such as testes and prostate, as well as promoting secondary sexual characteristi ...
and its precursors in two out-of-competition tests on April 19 and May 4, and one in-competition test May 6.
2023 in UFC
The year 2023 is the 30th year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States.
Releases and retirements
These fighters have either been released from their UFC contracts ...