''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, ...

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

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

Background

Results

Bonus awards

See also

References