''UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. dos Santos'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 3'') was a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

event produced by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

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, h ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, 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 Lakent Woodley (born April 7, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist and professional boxer. He is a former UFC Welterweight Champion who defended his title four times. A professional since 2009, Woodley also competed at St ...

and

Robbie Lawler Robert Glenn Lawler (born March 20, 1982) is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed between 2001 and 2023. He is a former UFC Welterweight Champion, former EliteXC Middleweight Champion, and has formerly competed in ...

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 artist and former professional wrestler who competes in the Heavyweight division. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and current Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA Heavyweigh ...

and former title challenger

Francis Ngannou Francis Zavier Ngannou (born 5 September 1986) is a Cameroonian and French professional mixed martial artist and professional boxer who currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Professional Fighters League (PFL), where he is the in ...

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 even ...

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 Heav ...

, but in both instances the fights were scrapped. A light heavyweight bout between Roman Dolidze and

Vinicius Moreira Vinicius Moreira Castro (born February 28, 1989) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light heavyweight (MMA), Light heavyweight division. He is most known for his time spent fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championsh ...

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 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 lif ...

. A featherweight bout between Chas Skelly and

Jordan Griffin Jordan Griffin (born February 23, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight (MMA), Featherweight division. A professional competitor since 2011, he has competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Legacy Fig ...

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, 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 Stenosis () is the abnormal narrowing of 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'' as a term is usually used when narrowing ...

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 former Bellator Bantamweight Champion. Prior to signing with Bellator, Pettis competed in the Ultimate Figh ...

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. A light heavyweight bout between

Justin Ledet Justin Wayne Ledet (born September 28, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Light Heavyweight division. A professional since 2010, he has most notably competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Backgro ...

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 c ...

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