UFC on ESPN 21 has lost its co-main event between [autotag]Gregor Gillespie[/autotag] and [autotag]Brad Riddell[/autotag].
UFC officials announced Saturday that the lightweight matchup between Gillespie (13-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) and Riddell (9-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) is off due to COVID-19 protocols. No specific details were revealed.
According to the UFC, the matchup is expected to be postponed to a later date to be determined.
With the subtraction of the fight, the new UFC on ESPN 21 lineup now includes:
Previewing Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 52 fight between Gregor Gillespie and Brad Riddell, with MMA odds, picks, tips and predictions.
In a lightweight bout on Saturday’s main card, Gregor Gillespie and Brad Riddell meet at UFC on ESPN+ 52 – also known as UFC Fight Night 188 or UFC Vegas 22 – at the UFC’s APEX Facility in Las Vegas. The early prelims kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+, and then the main card on ESPN+ at 10 p.m. Below, we analyze the UFC on ESPN+ 52 odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
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UFC on ESPN+ 52 Gillespie vs. Riddell: Odds, spread and lines
Fight result (2-way line): Gillespie -250 (bet $250 to win $100) | Riddell +200 (bet $100 to win $200)
Over/Under: 2.5 rounds (Over -110 | Under -110)
Will the fight go the distance? (Yes +115 | No -140)
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UFC on ESPN+ 52 Gillespie vs. Riddell: Odds, lines, predictions and picks
Gillespie (-250) is a heavy favorite to win, but betting two-and-a-half times your potential return is just not a good long-term strategy. He is coming off a first-round knockout loss against Kevin Lee at UFC 244 – his first professional loss. Each of his past six fights have finished inside the distance, with three KO/TKO wins and two via submission. As such, the better play is GILLESPIE BY KO/TKO, DQ OR SUBMISSION (+135) at plus-money.
Riddell is 3-0 in his three fights since making his company debut at UFC 243. However, Jamie Mullarkey, Magomed Mustafaev and Alex Da Silva aren’t in the same league as Gillespie. He went the distance in those three previous fights, but there is little-to-no chance of that happening here.
As mentioned above, Riddell’s past three fights have gone the distance. However, Gillespie has had stoppages in six straight fights, and the best play is NO (-140) ON ‘WILL THE FIGHT GO THE DISTANCE?’. For just 90 fewer seconds, you can go UNDER 2.5 ROUNDS (-110) for a much better value.
I also like GILLESPIE IN ROUND 1 (+350) and GILLESPIE IN ROUND 2 (+550). Yes, you will lose one of the ends with a Gillespie win in either of the first two rounds, but you’ll still be well in the black.
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In the main event, [autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag] (21-7 MMA, 12-5 UFC) takes on [autotag]Kevin Holland[/autotag] (21-5 MMA, 8-2 UFC) at middleweight. Holland is a -175 favorite at BetMGM, and he has a 10-3 lead in the picks from our 13 editors, writers, videographers and radio hosts.
In the co-feature, [autotag]Gregor Gillespie[/autotag] (13-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) meets [autotag]Brad Riddell[/autotag] (9-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) in a lightweight bout. Gillespie is a -250 favorite and one of two unanimous picks from our staff members on the main card.
In a women’s strawweight fight between promotional newcomers, [autotag]Cheyanne Buys[/autotag] (5-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is a big favorite at -350 against [autotag]Montserrat Ruiz[/autotag] (9-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), and she’s got a hefty 12-1 lead in the picks.
[autotag]Gustavo Lopez[/autotag] (12-5 MMA, 1-1 UFC) takes on [autotag]Adrian Yanez[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) at bantamweight. Yanez is a -225 favorite and has a big 10-3 picks lead.
[autotag]Max Griffin[/autotag] (16-8 MMA, 4-6 UFC) is a 2-1 favorite against [autotag]Song Kenan[/autotag] (16-5 MMA, 4-1 UFC), but their fight is our closest from a picks perspective with just an 8-5 lead for Griffin.
And to open the main card, [autotag]Harry Hunsucker[/autotag] (7-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) steps up on less than a week’s notice at heavyweight against 4-1 favorite [autotag]Tai Tuivasa[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC). Tuivasa is our other unanimous pick on the main card at 13-0.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Holland (72 percent), Gillespie (78 percent), Buys (64 percent), Yanez (78 percent), Kenan (62 percent) and Tuivasa (88 percent) are the choices.
MMA Junkie’s Simon Head looks at five key storylines to follow at UFC on ESPN 21 in Las Vegas.
Two middleweight finishers will go head to head at UFC on ESPN 21 in a bid to gatecrash the title picture at 185 pounds.
Middleweight stalwart [autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag] and rising contender [autotag]Kevin Holland[/autotag] will look to thrive under the main event spotlight on Saturday night. Both are on solid winning streaks and both have eyes on the division’s top men, with victory likely to propel one of them toward a bout against one of the 185-pound elite.
The co-headliner will see the return to action of [autotag]Gregor Gillespie[/autotag], who will look to bounce back from his first career defeat following his knockout loss to Kevin Lee at UFC 244 in November 2019. He’s set to face surging Kiwi [autotag]Brad Riddell[/autotag], who will be keen to extend his winning run under the UFC banner after winning his first three bouts on the big stage.
UFC on ESPN 21 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN2.
Ahead of the event, we take a look at five burning questions we’ll be seeking answers to when the fighters take to the cage.
The best facts and figures about UFC on ESPN 21, which features a Derek Brunson vs. Kevin Holland middleweight main event.
The UFC’s sprint of March events continues Saturday with UFC on ESPN 21, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas with a main card that airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
A key matchup of middleweights takes center stage in the main event. Longtime contender [autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag] (21-7 MMA, 12-5 UFC) will look to maintain his presence in the division when he takes on [autotag]Kevin Holland[/autotag] (21-5 MMA, 7-2 UFC), who fights for the first time since putting together a record year in 2020.
For more on the numbers behind the main event, as well as the rest of the card, check below for 35 pre-event facts about UFC on ESPN 21.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Gregor Gillespie[/autotag] isn’t sweating the fact that he’s no longer undefeated.
The UFC lightweight doesn’t think losses hold too much weight in the UFC and MMA in general. Gillespie (13-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC), who makes his return against Brad Riddell this Saturday in the UFC on ESPN 21 co-main event, hasn’t competed since suffering his first defeat in November 2019 when he was knocked out by Kevin Lee.
It was a tough pill to swallow, like any defeat, but the 33-year-old Gillespie made sure to move on quickly and said the way he lost made it easier to process.
“It’s been behind me, the few weeks following the loss it was behind me,” Gillespie told reporters, including MMA Junkie, on Wednesday at UFC on ESPN 21 media day. “I want to say this, too: The way I lost was easier to accept for me. It was easier to accept for me than getting beat up for three rounds or get taken down and getting held down.
“If I had been dragged through the mud and then lost a bad decision, that would’ve hurt me way more. I got hit with a really nice punch followed by a really clean kick. Props to Kevin Lee on that. That was a beautiful combo. I don’t know if you can do it better than that. It wasn’t lucky. It wasn’t ‘I got caught.’ It was perfectly executed and credit to him on that.”
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Prior to the fight with Lee, Gillespie was considered by many as the dark horse of the lightweight division and a potential threat to the title. He had six consecutive wins in the UFC, with five of those coming by stoppage.
Gillespie thinks the loss to Lee altered his trajectory in the division but not by much.
“The great thing about the UFC and the fight game in general, but really the UFC, the zero at the end of your record, it isn’t all they care about – and they actually said that to me,” Gillespie said. “A few of the guys higher up said, ‘Don’t worry about that, just keep performing,’ and I think that the thing about fighting in the UFC and MMA in general is that you can erase all that bad stuff with a good performance on Saturday night.
“They only care about the last one, and that’s the proof right here, is that I had 13 wins in a row with 5 finishes in the UFC and I lost one, and that’s all people remember. I get it: That’s part of the culture.”
On Saturday night against Riddell, the four-time NCAA Division I All-American plans to remind every one why just a few years ago he was regarded as a possible threat to even Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“Winning is the only thig that matters,” Gillespie said. “And to parlay that, wining and looking good doing it, not being a boring fight or looking cautious, not being a fight where I wish I’d done more. I don’t want to underperform. I want to go out there and let loose. I want to go out there and show people I’m the grappler of this division. Winning is the biggest, most important thing, but I want to do it the right way with some conviction.”
We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 21 event in Las Vegas.
We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 21 event in Las Vegas.
Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Thursday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).
Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the UFC on ESPN 21 main card staff predictions we release Friday ahead of the event. UFC on ESPN 21 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event streams on ESPN+.
Gregor Gillespie and Brad Riddell set to throw down March 20.
[autotag]Gregor Gillespie[/autotag] has a return date for his next UFC bout.
The lightweight contender will take on [autotag]Brad Riddell[/autotag] at a UFC Fight Night card March 20 in Las Vegas. The news was confirmed by MMA Junkie with people with knowledge of the booking following a report from Christopher Reive on Friday
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Gillespie (13-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) hasn’t competed since suffering his first professional defeat back at UFC 244 in November 2019. He lost to Kevin Lee via first-round knockout. Gillespie currently sits at No. 15 in the UFC’s official lightweight rankings.
New Zealand’s Riddell is looking to continue to build on his six-fight winning streak. The City Kickboxing product last fought at UFC 253 in September and outpointed Alex da Silva Coelho.
With the addition, the March 20 lineup now includes:
After every event, fans wonder whom the winners will be matched up with next.
With another night of UFC action in the rearview mirror, it’s time to look forward, put on a pair of Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard’s shoes, and play UFC matchmaker for UFC 248’s key winning fighters.
Those include [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] (19-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC), who defeated Yoel Romero (13-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) by unanimous decision to defend his middleweight belt in the main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag] (21-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC), who edged Joanna Jedrzejczyk (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) by split decision to retain the strawweight belt in the co-headliner, as well as [autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag] (18-4-1 MMA, 12-4-1 UFC), [autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag] (22-7 MMA, 15-6 UFC) and [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] (11-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC).
* * * *
Sean O’Malley
Brian Kelleher
Should fight: [autotag]Brian Kelleher[/autotag] Why they should fight: O’Malley returned to the octagon in resounding fashion after two years away and showed that he’s still a top bantamweight prospect by putting away Jose Quinonez with an impressive – and fast – first-round finish.
Now undefeated, it’s time for “Suga” to take a step up in competition and see if the talent really matches the hype. He’s able to show out against fighters who aren’t in his league, but what about against someone who should be far more competitive against him?
Sure, Kelleher (20-10 MMA, 4-3 UFC) hasn’t proven himself to be a worldbeater, but he has more experience than O’Malley, has fought better opponents and has better wins. He called for the fight after O’Malley’s win, and the UFC should give it to him.
Took a dive. Fuck that shit man it’s time @SugaSeanMMA fights somebody who doesn’t bend over like a bitch. I’m next #boom
Should fight: [autotag]Michael Chiesa[/autotag] Why they should fight: After a 16-month layoff, Magny returned in fine form and picked up a solid unanimous decision win against Li Jingliang, who has been doing some good things in the welterweight division in recent years.
Immediately after the fight, Magny had a name ready to go for who he wanted next. That name was Chiesa, who is coming off a unanimous decision win over former champ Rafael dos Anjos at UFC on ESPN+ 25 in January that moved him to 3-0 as a welterweight.
Chiesa promptly took to social media and accepted to the callout, and with both sides invested, this one makes itself.
Should fight: [autotag]Gregor Gillespie[/autotag] Why they should fight: Dariush extended his winning streak to four fights with one of the best knockouts so far this year. He stopped Drakkar Klose with an absurd punch in the second round of their lightweight matchup, and now it seems Dariush is on the cusp of breaking back into the top 15 of the weight class.
Dariush has been in and out of the rankings over the years, but with three consecutive stoppage wins, he hasn’t seen this type of momentum before. It puts him in position to get a name opponent at 155 pounds, and Gillespie (13-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) is available.
Gillespie is coming off a heinous knockout loss to Kevin Lee at UFC 244 in November, but from all indications is looking to book his next fight sometime in the coming months. Dariush said he’ll be ready to get back to work after his upcoming honeymoon, and it certainly has the ingredients for a solid fight.
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Zhang Weili
Rose Namajunas
Should fight: [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] or [autotag]Joanna Jedrzejczyk[/autotag] Why they should fight: Watch the video above to see why Weili should fight Rose Namajunas (if she wins at UFC 249) or rematch Jedrzejczyk next for her second title defense.
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Israel Adesanya
Paulo Costa
Should fight: [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag] Why they should fight: Watch the video above to see why Adesanya should fight Costa (12-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) next for his second title defense.
“Bo Nickal will 100 percent be an absolute freak of nature when it comes to fighting.”
One of the best collegiate wrestlers today will make a transition to MMA in the near future.
Four-time All-American wrestler [autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] recently announced he will be taking his skills from the mat to the cage once he’s done with his amateur wrestling career. The Penn State star currently has his eyes set on the 2020 U.S. Olympic team but knows professional fighting is on the horizon.
It’s undeniable Nickal will be a very promising addition to the sport given his grappling pedigree. Fellow All-American, and one of the best wrestlers in the UFC, [autotag]Gregor Gillespie[/autotag] believes the ceiling is high for Nickal.
“Bo Nickal will 100 percent be an absolute freak of nature when it comes to fighting,” Gillespie told MMA Junkie. “He can be the champ one day. I firmly believe that.”
Having come from the same background and being a threat in the UFC’s lightweight division, Gillespie (13–1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) knows a thing or two about what it takes to develop into a successful fighter.
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If Gillespie could offer a piece of advice to the 23-year-old Nickal, it would be to keep building on his existing skills before setting foot in the cage.
“I would tell Bo to do as many no-gi grappling tournaments he can for one or two years,” Gillespie said. “In the spare time he can start doing your sparring, hitting pads and all those things that come with striking, but I would say – if I were his coach – to do as many no-gi grappling competitions you can for a year-and-a-half.
“Three or four times a week hitting pads, and the rest twice a week you can do sparring. But before you have any fights, and obviously Bo is a freak wrestler, but I would tell him to work on his no-gi submission game. Be sure most of Bo Nickal’s fights will end on the ground, you can’t imagine him not taking someone down.”
Nickal has yet to announce a date for his move to MMA. He joins Bubba Jenkins, Ed Ruth, Phil Davis, and a few other Penn State wrestlers who have transitioned to MMA.
