''UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Till'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 191 '' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 49'' and ''UFC Vegas 36'') 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 September 4, 2021 at the
UFC Apex
UFC Apex (stylised as UFC APEX) is a live events and production center in Enterprise, Nevada, operated and owned by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The facility was chosen in part due to its close proximity to the UFC Performance Instit ...
facility in
Enterprise, Nevada
Enterprise is an Unincorporated towns in Nevada, unincorporated town in the Las Vegas Valley in Clark County, Nevada, United States. The population was 221,831 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, up from 14,676 at the United Stat ...
, part of the
Las Vegas Metropolitan Area
The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area is ...
, United States.
Background
While never officially announced by the organization, the promotion initially wanted to contest the event in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. It would have marked the promotion's first event in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
since
UFC Fight Night: Till vs. Masvidal in March 2019, as well as the first country other than the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
to host an international event after the pandemic effects began on mixed martial arts.
However, negotiations with the British officials fizzled amongst
COVID-19 protocols and the promotion turned to their home base of Las Vegas.
A middleweight bout between
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 ...
and 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
Darren Till
Darren Till (born 24 December 1992) is an English professional mixed martial artist and former Muay Thai fighter. He currently competes in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of December 13, 2022, he is #15 ...
headlined the event.
They were originally expected to serve as the main event for a planned event on August 14, but the date was scrapped.
Several bouts were also booked to take place at the planned August 14 event, before being rescheduled to this date:
*A women's flyweight bout between
Taila Santos
Taila Santos (born June 22, 1993) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of June 13, 2022, she is #2 in the UFC women's flyweight rankings, and as of November 15, 202 ...
and Mandy Böhm. In turn, after the change in location, Santos was removed due to alleged
visa
Visa most commonly refers to:
*Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company
** Visa Debit card issued by the above company
** Visa Electron, a debit card
** Visa Plus, an interbank network
*Travel visa, a document that allows ...
issues and replaced by former
KSW Women's Flyweight Champion Ariane Lipski
Ariane Lipski (born January 26, 1994) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. She is a former KSW Women's Flyweight Champion and currently competes in the flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Background
Lipski was bor ...
.
Subsequently, the bout was removed from the card during the week leading up to the event as Böhm was sidelined due to illness. The pairing is expected to remain intact and be rescheduled two weeks later at
UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Spann.
*A women's flyweight bout between
Molly McCann
Molly McCann (born 4 May 1990) is an English mixed martial artist. She is a former Cage Warriors Flyweight Champion and currently competes in the women's flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Early life
McCann was born ...
and
Ji Yeon Kim
Kim Ji-yeon ( ko, 김지연; born October 18, 1992), often anglicized Ji Yeon Kim, is a South Korean mixed martial artist (MMA). She was the Jewels and Gladiator women's bantamweight champion. She competes in the Women's Flyweight division of ...
.
[ ]
*A featherweight bout featuring
Charles Jourdain
Charles Jourdain (born November 27, 1995) is a Canadian mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who is currently competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship's (UFC) Featherweight division. He was previously a TKO Major League MMA Double Champion, wi ...
and
Lerone Murphy
Lerone Murphy (born July 22, 1991) is an English mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Background
Murphy, who was born and raised in Old Trafford, went to St Edward's Primary Scho ...
.
[ ] Murphy was eventually pulled from the event due to visa issues and replaced by
Julian Erosa
Julian Ricardo Dulican Erosa (born July 31, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Erosa is also a former CageSport Featherweight and Lightweight Champ ...
, changing the contest to a catchweight bout of 150 pounds.
[ ]
*A middleweight bout between
Marc-André Barriault
Marc-André Barriault (born February 18, 1990) is a Canadian mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who is currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship's (UFC) Middleweight division. He previously competed with TKO Major League MMA where he w ...
and
Dalcha Lungiambula
Dalcha Lungiambula (born July 31, 1987) is a Congolese mixed martial artist and kickboxer who competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Lungiambula was born in Kinshasa ...
.
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 ...
had been rescheduled for this event.
[ ] They were originally expected to meet at
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 ...
, before Perez was forced to pull out due to undisclosed reasons. They were then booked again at
UFC on ESPN: Barboza vs. Chikadze, before being shifted to this event.
However, the bout was yet again postponed for unknown reasons to
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 ...
.
Nathaniel Wood was expected to face
Jonathan Martinez
Jonathan Martinez (born April 20, 1994) is an American professional mixed martial artist. Martinez currently competes in the bantamweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Background
Martinez was born and grew up in Califo ...
in a bantamweight bout at the event. However, Wood pulled out of the bout in mid-August citing a broken hand and was replaced by Marcelo Rojo.
[ ] At the weigh-ins, Martinez weighed in at 138 pounds, two pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit. The bout was expected to proceed at a catchweight, but it was eventually scrapped hours later.
A bantamweight bout between
Jack Shore
Jack Shore (born 6 February 1995) is a Welsh professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2016, he is the former Bantamweight c ...
and
Said Nurmagomedov
Said Nurmagomedov (born April 5, 1992) is a Russian mixed martial artist, currently competing as a bantamweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2009, he formerly competed for Absolute Championship Berkut and ...
was scheduled for the event. However, Nurmagomedov was pulled from the event due to visa issues and was replaced by Zviad Lazishvili.
[ ] Lazishvili later pulled out due to injury and was replaced by Liudvik Sholinian.
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 classe ...
challenger
Alexander Gustafsson
Alexander Gustafsson (born 15 January 1987) is a Swedish professional mixed martial artist. Gustafsson currently competes in the light heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Gustafsson spent a major part of his MMA ...
and
Paul Craig
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...
was expected to take place at the event. However, a week before the event, Gustafsson withdrew due to injury. In turn, promotion officials removed Craig from the card as well.
A light heavyweight bout between former light heavyweight title challenger
Volkan Oezdemir
Volkan Oezdemir (born 19 September 1989) is a Swiss professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxing practitioner. He currently competes in the Light heavyweight (MMA), Light heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC ...
and
Magomed Ankalaev
Magomed Alibulatovich Ankalaev (russian: Магоме́д Алибула́тович Анкала́ев; born 2 June 1992) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist, who currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate F ...
was expected to take place at this event. However, the bout was postponed to
UFC 267
''UFC 267: Błachowicz vs. Teixeira'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 30, 2021, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Background
This event took plac ...
for unknown reasons.
A welterweight bout between
David Zawada
David Zawada (born ) is a German mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division. A professional since 2010, he has formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW), and Respect ...
and
Sergey Khandozhko
Sergey Khandozhko (born May 19, 1992) is a retired Russian male mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Background
While in the first grade, his parents signed Sergey to the sambo/judo ...
was expected to take place at the event. However, the w