Triple Take: Which fighter loses out most from UFC postponing three cards?

Out of all the athletes who lost a UFC fight date due to the coronavirus outbreak, which one got the worst end of the situation?

The UFC postponed three events during March and April due to the coronavirus pandemic. UFC on ESPN+ 29 (London) on March 21, UFC on ESPN 8 (Columbus) on March 28 and UFC on ESPN+ 30 (Portland) on April 11 were all pushed back due to safety concerns over the ongoing crisis, causing more than 30 matchups to fall apart.

Out of all the athletes who lost out on the chance to compete, though, which one got the worst end of the situation? MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn, John Morgan and Nolan King give their opinion on the latest edition of Triple Take.

Mike Bohn: Leon Edwards loses

Even if the UFC opts to rebook the [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] vs. former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley fight that was originally planned as the UFC London main event, it seems unlikely the circumstances would be replicated. It was the perfect scenario for “Rocky,” who needed an eight-fight winning streak just to get to this opportunity. But now it’s hard to push away the feeling that disappointment is headed his way.

Edwards only got the matchup with Woodley after a lot of headache. Woodley did not want the fight from the outset, and said as much publicly. He wanted a bigger name and a bigger fight, but with the way the matchups unfolded at the top of the welterweight division, Edwards was the only logical option for “The Chosen One” after being out since March 2019, when he lost UFC gold to Kamaru Usman.

It was only a matter of hours from the time the fight was called off for Colby Covington to slide into the picture. He offered to step in as a replacement against Woodley, but it never came close to reality because the UFC ultimately had to scratch the event altogether. Since then, though, Woodley has been beating the drum to fight Covington next, and has all but pushed Edwards’ name to the wayside.

The UFC will ultimately decide who it decides to offer Woodley next, but even if it’s Edwards again, the moment in time can’t be recaptured.

Edwards was not only about to get the biggest fight of his life, but he was going to get it on home soil. Headlining a combat sports card at the famous O2 Arena in London is a dream scenario for any Brit fighter, and Edwards was about to get that. Considering the UFC only goes to London once a year, the odds of Edwards landing that same venue are slim to none.

The timing of the fight was also in Edwards’ favor. With welterweight champ Usman likely to make his next defense in the summer, a victory for Edwards would have put him in position to either serve as a title-fight back-up, or challenge the winner. But now Edwards is the odd man out, and it’s entirely possible he loses a deserved opportunity because this single fight fell apart.

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Next page: John Morgan: Shahbazyan’s breakout moment missed

UFC in 2019: A ridiculously robust look at the stats, streaks, skids and record-setters

A full recap of 2019’s most significant footnotes and milestones from the events, the fights and individual performances.

Now that the year has come to a close, and with a major assist from UFC research analyst and live statistics producers Michael Carroll, here are some of 2019’s most significant milestones from the events, the fights and individual performances.

* * * *

EVENTS

Octagon girls at UFC 238

The UFC held 42 events in 39 different cities across 15 countries and five continents.

Within those events, there were 516 fights across 13 different weight classes (including catchweight bouts).

Those 516 fights combined for a total cage time of 94:59:04.

The longest event of the year was “UFC on ESPN+ 19: Joanna vs. Waterson” in Tampa, Fla., at 2:57:27. It was the second longest in company history behind “UFC Fight Night 121: Werdum vs. Tybura” (3:04:18).

The shortest event of the year was “UFC on ESPN 3: Ngannou vs. Dos Santos” in Minneapolis at 1:38:12.

“UFC on ESPN+ 13: de Randamie vs. Ladd” featured 62 seconds of total fight time in the main and co-main event, the single-event record in company history.

At those events, the UFC drew an announced total attendance of 548,023 for a live gate total of $61,050,133.74 (Note: Live gate was not announced for 11 events; no attendance was revealed for one event).

The highest reported attended event of the year was “UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya” in Melbourne (57,127), which was the all-time company record, while the lowest attended event was “UFC on ESPN+ 20: Maia vs. Askren” in Singapore (7,155).

The highest reported income gate of the year was “UFC 244: Masvidal vs. Diaz” in New York ($6,575,996.19) while the lowest reported income gate of the year went to “UFC on ESPN+ 4: Lewis vs. Dos Santos” in Wichita, Kan. ($636,417.26).

In 2019, 168 fight-night bonuses were given out for a sum of $8.4 million.

In 2019, athletes were paid $7,370,500 in Promotional Guidelines Compliance money.

The most knockouts at a single event went to “UFC on ESPN 3: Ngannou vs. Dos Santos,” “UFC 244: Masvidal vs. Diaz” and “UFC 245: Usman vs. Covington” with seven each.

Henry Cejudo vs. Marlon Moraes

“UFC 238: Cejudo vs. Moraes” featured a total of 1,818 significant strikes landed, a new single-event record. UFC 231 held the previous high with 1,647.

The most submissions at a single event went to “UFC on ESPN 5: Covington vs. Lawler” with five.

The most fights to go to a decision at a single event went to “UFC on ESPN 4: Dos Anjos vs. Edwards” with 10.

“UFC on ESPN 4: Dos Anjos vs. Edwards” featured nine consecutive decision results, tied for the single-event UFC record.

“UFC on ESPN 4: Dos Anjos vs. Edwards” started with nine consecutive decision results, the single-event record.

“UFC on ESPN 7: Overeem vs. Rozenstruik” marked the third event in company history to feature two draws. UFC 22 and UFC 216 were the others.

Betting favorites went 319-182. Fifteen fights ended in a draw, no contest or had even odds.

Betting favorites went 22-18 in event headliners. Two fights ended in a no contest or had even odds.

“UFC on ESPN 3: Ngannou vs. Dos Santos” and “UFC on ESPN+ 22: Blachowicz vs. Jacare” had the most favorites come through victorious, with 10 each. On the flip side, seven underdogs won at three separate events.

Aspen Ladd

A total of 30 fighters officially missed weight for their respective contests. The 28 fighters in that group to compete went 10-17-1 in their respective bouts.

A total of 135 fighters made their UFC debut in 2019. Those fighters went 57-74-2 with two no contests. Debuting fighters who faced an opponent with at least one bout of UFC experience went 43-58-2 with two no contests.

A variety of circumstances caused a total of 19 UFC main event or co-main event fights to be adjusted, postponed or canceled entirely.

One entire event was canceled (UFC 233 in January in Anaheim, Calif.)