''UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. LaFlare'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 62'') 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 held on March 21, 2015, at the

Ginásio do Maracanãzinho Ginásio Gilberto Cardoso or Ginásio do Maracanãzinho, sometimes called just Maracanãzinho ("Little Maracanã" or "Mini Maracanã"), is an indoor arena located in Maracanã in the north zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is used mostly for ...

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

Background

After hosting a PPV event at the venue and some others at

HSBC Arena Jeunesse Arena is an indoor multi-purpose arena, located in the region of Barra da Tijuca, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is named for the American cosmetics company Jeunesse Global through a naming rights deal closed in 2017. Before, the spons ...

, the event was the first Fight Night that the UFC has hosted in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

. The event was expected to be headlined by a bantamweight rematch between

Urijah Faber Urijah Faber (born May 14, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist and actor who is signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He competed as a bantamweight and formerly competed as a featherweight. He is also the founder of Team Alpha Male, ...

and

Raphael Assunção Raphael Oliveira Assunção (born 19 July 1982) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Born in Recife in Northeast Brazil, Assunção moved to Unite ...

. However, on February 2, Assunção was forced out of the bout as his ankle, injured in mid-December 2014, was slow to heal and he was unable to resume the proper training to prepare for the fight in that time frame. The UFC also removed Faber from the card and promoted a welterweight bout between

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 ...

and

Ryan LaFlare Ryan LaFlare (born October 1, 1983) is a retired American mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC's Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight division. Background LaFlare was born and raised in Lindenhurst, N ...

to the main event.

Matt Wiman Matthew Charles Wimanhttp://boxing.nv.gov/2011%20Results%20Web/07-02-11%20MMA.pdf (born September 19, 1983) is an American retired mixed martial artist who competed as a lightweight. He competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background ...

was expected to face Leonardo Santos at the event. However, on February 11, Wiman pulled out of the bout citing a back injury and was replaced by

Anthony Rocco Martin Anthony "Tony" Rocco Martin (born December 11, 1989) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competed in the lightweight and welterweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Born in Palos Heights, Illinois, M ...

Josh Thomson Joshua Joseph Thomson (born September 21, 1977) is an American mixed martial arts podcaster, commentator, analyst and former mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2001, Thomson has competed in Bellator MMA, PRIDE, Strikeforce, U ...

was expected to face

Gilbert Burns Gilbert Alexander Pontes Burns (born 20 July 1986) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and submission grappler. He currently competes in the Welterweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As a grappler, Burns ...

at the event. However, on February 26, Thomson pulled out of the fight with an undisclosed injury, while Burns remained on the card and faced promotional newcomer

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, Oliveira ...

. Ben Saunders was expected to face

Erick Silva Erick Vinicius Silva (born June 21, 1984) is a Brazilian former mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division. A professional from 2005 till 2019, he competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Bellator MMA, and Jungle Fight, ...

at the event. However, on March 6, Saunders pulled out of the bout due to an injury. He was replaced by

Josh Koscheck Edinboro Fighting Scots Josh D. Koscheck (born November 30, 1977) is an American retired mixed martial artist who fought at Welterweight for the UFC and Bellator MMA. Koscheck made his debut with the UFC on the first season of the realit ...

. Koscheck had previously fought just 21 days before this event at

UFC 184 ''UFC 184: Rousey vs. Zingano'' was a mixed martial arts event held on February 28, 2015, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Background A UFC Middleweight Championship bout between Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort was expected to serve ...

, losing his fight against

Jake Ellenberger Jacob Steven "Jake" Ellenberger (born March 28, 1985) is an American retired mixed martial artist and former United States Marine who was known for competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor from 2005–2018, ...

. A lightweight fight between Leandro Silva and

Drew Dober Andrew Martin Dober (born October 19, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2009, he has also formerly competed for Bella ...

ended with controversy as referee Eduardo Herdy stopped the bout at 2:45 of the second round for no apparent reason, as Dober had already escaped a guillotine choke attempt. The result was met with an enormous number of complaints from several people related to mixed martial arts. Dober was paid his win bonus regardless. Although initially announcing the controversial result would stand, the ''Comissão Atlética Brasileira de MMA'' (CABMMA) – Brazilian MMA Athletic Commission – overturned Silva's win and declared the fight a no-contest on March 26. On April 9, the CABMMA announced that Jorge de Oliveira failed a fight night drug test, testing positive for the anabolic steroid

stanozolol Stanozolol (Abbreviation, abbrev. Stz), sold under many brand names, is an androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) medication derived from dihydrotestosterone (DHT). It is used to treat hereditary angioedema. It was developed by American pharmaceuti ...

. He was suspended for one year, retroactive to the event date.

Results

Bonus awards

The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses: *Fight of the Night: None awarded *Performance of the Night: Gilbert Burns, Godofredo Pepey, Kevin Souza and Fredy Serrano

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:UFC Fight Night: Faber vs. Assuncao UFC Fight Night Mixed martial arts in Brazil 2015 in mixed martial arts 2015 in Brazilian sport International sports competitions in Rio de Janeiro (city) March 2015 sports events in South America

Background

Results

Bonus awards

See also

References