''UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. dos Santos'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 3'') 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 was held on June 29, 2019, at
Target Center
Target Center is a multi-purpose arena located in Minneapolis that opened in 1990. It hosts major family shows, concerts, sporting events, graduations and private events. Target Corporation, founded and headquartered in Minneapolis since 1902, ...
in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
,
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, USA.
Background
The event was the promotion's third visit to Minneapolis and the first since
UFC on FX: Browne vs. Bigfoot in October 2012.
A welterweight rematch between the former
UFC Welterweight Champions Tyron Woodley
Tyron Woodley (born April 17, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He is a former UFC Welterweight Champion who defended his title four times. A professional since 2009, Woodley also competed at Strikeforce and was an NCAA Di ...
and
Robbie Lawler
Robert Lawler (born March 20, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist who has been competing since 2001. He is the former UFC Welterweight Champion, former EliteXC Middleweight Champion, and has formerly competed in Strikeforce, ...
was expected to be the event headliner.
Woodley won the title in their first encounter via first-round knockout in July 2016 at
UFC 201
''UFC 201: Lawler vs. Woodley'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 30, 2016, at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
Background
This was the third event that the organization has hosted in Atl ...
. However, it was reported on May 16, 2019, that Woodley had suffered a hand injury and was pulled out of the fight. As a result, Lawler was removed from the card as well. Subsequently, a heavyweight bout between the former
UFC Heavyweight 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 ...
Junior dos Santos
Junior dos Santos (; born 30 January 1984) is a Brazilian Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and Professional wrestling, professional wrestler who competes in the Heavyweight (MMA), Heavyweight division of Eagle FC. As a mixed martial ar ...
and former title challenger
Francis Ngannou
Francis Zavier Ngannou (born 5 September 1986) is a Cameroonian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current UFC Heavyweight Champion. A ...
was scheduled as the event headliner instead. The pairing had been scheduled twice before, first at
UFC 215
''UFC 215: Nunes vs. Shevchenko 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on September 9, 2017 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Background
The promotion was initially planning a PPV event ...
and then at
UFC 239
''UFC 239: Jones vs. Santos'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on July 6, 2019 at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area.
Background
A UFC Light ...
, but in both instances the fights were scrapped.
A light heavyweight bout between
Roman Dolidze
Roman Dolidze (born July 15, 1988) is a Georgian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2016, Dolidze was the former World Warriors Figh ...
and
Vinicius Moreira
Vinicius Moreira Castro (born February 28, 1989) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light heavyweight division. He is most known for his time spent fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Background
In ...
was scheduled to take place at the event. However, an unknown reason saw Dolidze pull out of the fight on May 7 and he was replaced by
Eryk Anders
Eryk Ryan Anders (born April 21, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist and former American football linebacker. He competes in the Middleweight division of the UFC. He played college football at the University of Alabama.
Early ...
.
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
Jordan Griffin
Jordan Griffin (born February 23, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division. A professional competitor since 2011, he has competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Legacy Fighting Alliance and Ki ...
was originally scheduled for this event. However, on June 13, Skelly pulled out of the fight citing injury. Griffin was then booked to face promotional newcomer Vince Murdock.
On June 27, Murdock announced that he was not medically cleared to compete and the bout was removed from the card. On September 5, 2019, it was reported that Murdock had received a 20-month suspension by
USADA
The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA, ) is a non-profit, non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization and the national anti- doping organization (NADO) for the United States. To protect clean competition and the integrity of sport and prevent ...
, having tested positive for
GW1516
GW501516 (also known as GW-501,516, GW1516, GSK-516, Cardarine, and on the black market as Endurobol) is a PPARδ receptor agonist that was invented in a collaboration between Ligand Pharmaceuticals and GlaxoSmithKline in the 1990s. It entered ...
, better known as
Cardarine and often sold on the black market as
Endurobol, on a sample collected on July 6, 2019. Later in 2019, Murdock revealed that the reason behind withdrawing from the bout was initially high grade
stenosis
A stenosis (from Ancient Greek στενός, "narrow") is an abnormal narrowing in a blood vessel or other tubular organ or structure such as foramina and canals. It is also sometimes called a stricture (as in urethral stricture).
''Stricture'' ...
which was later diagnosed as
Moyamoya disease
Moyamoya disease is a disease in which certain arteries in the brain are constricted. Blood flow is blocked by constriction and blood clots (thrombosis). A collateral circulation develops around the blocked vessels to compensate for the blockage, ...
.
A bantamweight bout between
Sergio Pettis
Sergio Jerome Pettis (born August 18, 1993) is an American mixed martial artist who is currently signed with Bellator MMA, where he is the current Bellator Bantamweight Champion. Prior to signing with Bellator, Pettis competed in the Ultimate Fig ...
and
Ricardo Ramos was scheduled to take place at this event but, on June 15, it was reported that Pettis had pulled out of the bout for undisclosed reasons and had been replaced by newcomer
Journey Newson
Journey Ja-rel Newson (born March 7, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Background
Newson grew up in the Merced area. Due to his mother's drug addiction and ...
.
A light heavyweight bout between
Justin Ledet
Justin Wayne Ledet (born September 28, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist and boxer who competes in the Light Heavyweight division. A professional since 2010, he has most notably competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship ...
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 ...
was scheduled to take place at this event but, on June 24, it was announced that Ledet was removed from the card. He was replaced by promotional newcomer
Dequan Townsend
Dequan Townsend (born May 11, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division. He has previously fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Background
Townsend originally began training ...
.
Results
Bonus awards
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.
*Fight of the Night: No bonus awarded.
*Performance of the Night: Francis Ngannou, Joseph Benavidez, Alonzo Menifield and Eryk Anders
See also
*
List of UFC events
This is a list of events held and scheduled by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. UFC's first event, UFC 1, took place on November 12, 1993. Each UFC event contains several fight ...
*
2019 in UFC
The year 2019 was the 27th 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, a ...
*
List of current UFC fighters
This list of current UFC fighters records current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighters' information, country origins, recent fighter signings and departures, fight schedules and results and the champion of each division. , the UFC roster ...
References
{{2019 in mixed martial arts
UFC on ESPN
2019 in mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts in Minnesota
Sports competitions in Minneapolis
June 2019 sports events in the United States
Events in Minneapolis