''UFC Fight Night: Benavidez vs. Figueiredo'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 169'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 27'') 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 29, 2020 at
Chartway Arena
Chartway Arena at the Ted Constant Convocation Center is a , multi-purpose arena in Norfolk, Virginia, United States, on the campus of Old Dominion University. It is operated by Spectra Venue Management. Chartway Arena is part of the University Vi ...
in
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...
, United States.
Background
The event was the second that the promotion has hosted in Norfolk and first since
UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Pettis in November 2017.
A
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 ...
bout for the vacant title between former title challenger
Joseph Benavidez
Joseph Rolando Benavidez (born July 31, 1984) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the Flyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Background
Benavidez was born on July 31, 1984, in San An ...
and
Deiveson Figueiredo
Deiveson Alcântara Figueiredo (born December 18, 1987) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the two-time and current UFC Flyw ...
served as the event headliner. Multi-divisional champion
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 ...
announced on December 19, 2019 that he would be relinquishing the flyweight title and concentrate on competing solely in the bantamweight division.
A welterweight bout between
Alex Oliveira
Alex de Oliveira (born February 21, 1988) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Background
Born and raised in Três Rios, Rio de Janeiro, Oliveir ...
and
Mickey Gall
Mickey Gall (born January 22, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competed in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Early life
Gall was born in Green Brook, New Jersey. He began training in boxi ...
was scheduled for the event. However, the bout was pulled from the event on December 27 due to undisclosed reasons.
A featherweight bout between
Chas Skelly
Chas Lucas Skelly (born May 11, 1985) is an American retired mixed martial artist who competed in the featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2009, he has also competed for Bellator MMA and Legacy Fig ...
and
Grant Dawson
Grant Dawson (born February 20, 1994) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of December 19, 2022, he is #15 in the UFC lightweight rankings.
Background
Daws ...
was scheduled to take place at
UFC 246
''UFC 246: McGregor vs. Cowboy'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 18, 2020 at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.
...
, but Dawson was forced to withdraw from the bout. The pairing was then rescheduled for this event. In turn, it was reported on February 7 that Skelly was injured during one of his training sessions and therefore forced to withdraw from the fight. He was replaced by promotional newcomer
Darrick Minner
Darrick Minner (born April 28, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Background
Born in Auburn, Nebraska and raised in Nebraska City, Minner wrestled at Nebra ...
.
A featherweight bout between
Steven Peterson and Aalon Cruz was scheduled to take place at the event. However, Peterson was pulled from the event for an unknown reason and replaced by promotional newcomer
Spike Carlyle.
[ ]
A featherweight bout between Mike Davis and Giga Chikadze expected to take place at this event was cancelled after Davis pulled out due to an undisclosed injury. In turn, promotion officials elected to remove Chikadze from the card due to being unable to find a replacement and scheduled him to face Jamall Emmers at
UFC 248
''UFC 248: Adesanya vs. Romero'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 7, 2020 at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.
B ...
, replacing an injured Movsar Evloev.
A lightweight bout between
Luis Peña and Alexander Muñoz was scheduled to take place at the event. However, it was announced on February 23 that Muñoz had pulled out due to injury. He was replaced by Steve Garcia.
At the weigh-ins, Figueiredo came in at 127.5 pounds, 2.5 pounds over the flyweight title fight limit of 125 pounds. As a result, he was ineligible to win the championship, while Benavidez remained eligible if he won.
Figueiredo was fined 30% of his purse, which went to Benavidez and the bout proceeded as scheduled at a catchweight.
Dawson also failed to make weight, coming in at 149.5 pounds, 3.5 pounds over the featherweight non-title fight limit of 146 pounds. He was also fined 30% of his fight purse, which went to Minner and the bout proceeded at a catchweight.
Results
Bonus awards
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.
*Fight of the Night: Kyler Phillips vs. Gabriel Silva
*Performance of the Night: Megan Anderson and Jordan Griffin
Reported payout
The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the Virginia Department of Professional & Occupational Regulation (VDPOR). It does not include sponsor money or "locker room" bonuses often given by the UFC and also do not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses. The total disclosed payout for the event was $945,000.
*Deiveson Figueiredo: $105,000 ($50,000 win bonus) def. Joseph Benavidez: $195,000 ^
*Felicia Spencer: $34,000 ($17,000 win bonus) def. Zarah Fairn dos Santos: $10,000
*Magomed Ankalaev: $66,000 ($33,000 win bonus) def. Ion Cuțelaba: $33,000
*Megan Anderson: $80,000 ($40,000 win bonus) def. Norma Dumont Viana: $10,000
*Grant Dawson: $23,800 ($14,000 win bonus) def. Darrick Minner: $14,200 >
*Kyler Phillips: $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus) def. Gabriel Silva: $10,000
*Brendan Allen: $24,000 ($12,000 win bonus) def. Tom Breese: $10,000
*Marcin Tybura: $136,000 ($68,000 win bonus) def. Sergey Spivak: $14,000
*Luis Peña: $48,000 ($24,000 win bonus) def. Steve Garcia: $10,000
*Jordan Griffin: $24,000 ($12,000 win bonus) def. T.J. Brown: $10,000
*Spike Carlyle: $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus) def. Aalon Cruz: $10,000
*Sean Brady: $24,000 ($12,000 win bonus) def. Ismail Naurdiev: $16,000
^ ''Deiveson Figueiredo ($45,000) was fined 30% of his respective purse for failing to make the required weight for his fight against Joseph Benavidez. That money was issued to Benavidez, a VDPOR official confirmed.''
> ''Although not recognized on the official pay sheet, Grant Dawson ($4,200) was fined 30% of his purse for failing to make the required weight for his fight against Darrick Minner. That money was issued to Minner, a VDPOR official confirmed. The VDPOR's initial report did not include information on the penalty.''
See also
*
List of UFC events
*
List of current UFC fighters
*
2020 in UFC
The year 2020 was the 28th year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States.
Partnership
Starting in 2021, a partnership between the UFC and Dapper Labs's Flow platform ...
References
{{2020 in mixed martial arts
UFC Fight Night
2020 in mixed martial arts
2020 in sports in Virginia
Mixed martial arts in Virginia
Sports in Norfolk, Virginia
February 2020 sports events in the United States
Events in Norfolk, Virginia