''UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Usman'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 129'') 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 May 19, 2018, at

Movistar Arena Movistar Arena is a 17,000-seat multi-purpose indoor arena in Santiago, Chile. It is located inside O'Higgins Park, in downtown Santiago. Its main structure was built in 1956, but it remained unfinished and without roof, the roof was installed i ...

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Background

The event marked the promotion's first visit to Chile. A welterweight bout between The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians welterweight winner

Kamaru Usman Kamarudeen Usman (born May 11, 1987) is a Nigerian and American professional mixed martial artist, former freestyle wrestler and retired folkstyle wrestler. He currently competes in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Champions ...

and

Santiago Ponzinibbio Santiago Ponzinibbio (born September 26, 1986) is an Argentines, Argentine mixed martial artist competing as a Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background He was born in Argentina to parents of Italian ...

was expected to serve as the event headliner. However, Ponzinibbio pulled out on April 21 due to injury. He was replaced by former UFC Welterweight and Middleweight Championship challenger

Demian Maia Demian Maia (born 6 November 1977) is a Brazilian professional submission grappler and mixed martial artist. He competed in both the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Maia is regarded as one ...

. 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 Ray Borg and

Brandon Moreno Brandon Carrillo Moreno (born December 7, 1993) is a Mexican professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Flyweight Champion, and the cu ...

was originally expected to take place at UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Medeiros. However, due to a minor injury sustained by Moreno, the pairing was postponed and rescheduled to take place at

UFC 223 ''UFC 223: Khabib vs. Iaquinta '' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on April 7, 2018, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Background A UFC Lightweight Championship bout between i ...

. The bout was delayed again, after Borg had issues related to glass shards in his eye as a result of the former UFC Featherweight and Lightweight Champion

Conor McGregor Conor Anthony McGregor ( ga, Conchúr Antóin Mac Gréagóir; born 14 July 1988) is an Irish professional mixed martial artist. He is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight and lightweight double-champion. He is the first ...

and crew bus melee. The pairing was scheduled again and was expected to take place at this event. However, Borg withdrew from the bout to take care of his child, who required brain surgery. He was replaced by

Alexandre Pantoja Alexandre Pantoja Passidomo (born, April 16, 1990) is a Brazilian mixed martial arts fighter, currently fighting for the UFC and is the flyweight champion of the Resurrection Fighting Alliance and Shooto Brazil. As of August 20, 2022, he is ...

. A light heavyweight bout between former

UFC Light 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 ...

Maurício Rua Maurício Milani Rua (; born 25 November 1981), also known as Shogun, is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and former model. He competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a forme ...

and former 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 division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competi ...

was expected to take place at this event. However, it was reported on April 13, 2018, that Oezdemir was pulled from the event 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 stemming from a previous legal transgression, restricting his travel to Chile. The pairing was left intact and rescheduled for July 22, 2018, at UFC Fight Night: Volkan vs. Shogun.

Results

Bonus awards

The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses: *Fight of the Night: Andrea Lee vs. Veronica Macedo *Performance of the Night: Gabriel Benítez and Claudio Puelles

References

UFC Fight Night 2018 in mixed martial arts 2018 in Chilean sport Mixed martial arts in Chile Sports competitions in Santiago Sport in Santiago {{mixedmartialart-stub

Background

Results

Bonus awards

See also

References