''UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Dvalishvili'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 221'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 79'' and ''UFC Vegas 71'') is an upcoming

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 will take place on March 11, 2023, at

The Theater at Virgin Hotels The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, originally known as The Joint, is a theater located on the grounds of the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in Paradise, Nevada. It opened as The Joint on March 10, 1995, as part of the Hard Rock Hotel (later Virgin H ...

Paradise, Nevada Paradise is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It was formed on December 8, 1950. Its population was 191,238 at the 2020 census, making it the fif ...

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

Despite being based in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

and hosting the majority of its events in the city, this will be the first time the UFC will host an event at

. 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 Anthony Smith and

Jamahal Hill Jamahal Hill (born May 19, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of December 6, 2022, he is #7 in the UFC light heavyweight ...

was expected to headline the event. However in mid-December, Hill was pulled from the contest in order to headline

UFC 283 ''UFC 283: Teixeira vs. Hill'' is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on January 21, 2023, at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background The event will mark the p ...

against former champion

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

for the vacant title. It is unclear if a replacement would be sought by UFC official for Smith. Instead, a bantamweight bout between former UFC Bantamweight Champion

Petr Yan Petr Evgenyevich Yan (russian: Пётр Евге́ньевич Я́н, translit=Pyotr Yevgenyevich Yan; born 11 February 1993) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fi ...

and

Merab Dvalishvili Merab Dvalishvili (born January 10, 1991) is a Georgian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of March 13, 2023, he is #1 in the UFC bantamweight ran ...

is expected to headline the event. A bantamweight bout between

Mario Bautista Mario Bautista (born July 1, 1993) is an American mixed martial artist. He currently competing in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Bautista was born in Winnemucca, Nevada, United States. He sta ...

and

Guido Cannetti Guido Martín Cannetti Álvarez (born December 19, 1979) is an Argentine mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Bantamweight division. He is most notable for his stint in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Growing up, Gu ...

is expected to take place at the event. They were previously scheduled to meet at UFC on ESPN: Barboza vs. Chikadze but Bautista pulled out for tested positive for COVID-19

Fight card

Announced bouts

*Light Heavyweight bout: Anthony Smith vs. TBA *Bantamweight bout:

Tony Gravely Tony Gravely (born September 28, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Gravely's father was a Tae Kwon Do instructor for over 25 years, so he started ...

vs. Victor Henry *Featherweight bout: Ricardo Ramos vs.

Austin Lingo Austin Lingo (born July 10, 1994) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Early life Lingo began training in martial arts at a young age after his father found out he� ...

*Light Heavy weight bout: Vitor Petrino vs Anton Turkalj

References

{{2023 in mixed martial arts UFC Fight Night 2023 in mixed martial arts Scheduled mixed martial arts events

Background

Fight card

Announced bouts

See also

References