Tag: Nicolas Dalby

UFC announces full ‘Fight Island’ lineup, includes 47 bouts in 15 days

“Fight Island” is real, and now the four cards that will take place there are real, as well.

“Fight Island” is real, and now the four cards that will take place there are real, as well.

UFC president Dana White today announced the complete lineup for the four cards that will take place next month in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The unique setup has been necessitated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has made it difficult to get international fighters into the U.S. to compete.

“I think this is going to be a really unique experience, not just for the fighters, but for us,” UFC president Dana White said during the announcement. “It’s going to be cool. It’s going to be something different. It’s never been done before, and however long this thing goes on, and however long it’s hard to get people in from other countries, we will have these fights at ‘Fight Island’ – Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.”

First up, it’s UFC 251 on July 11, which features a trio of title fights.

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Champ [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Gilbert Burns[/autotag] – for welterweight title
  • Champ [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] – for featherweight title
  • [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] – for vacant bantamweight title
  • [autotag]Jessica Andrade[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Amanda Ribas[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Paige VanZant[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

  • [autotag]Volkan Oezdemir[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jiri Prochazka[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Muslim Salikhov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Makwan Amirkhani[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Danny Henry[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Roman Bogatov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Leonardo Santos[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 6:15 p.m. ET)

  • [autotag]Alexander Romanov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Marcin Tybura[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Raulian Paiva[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Zhalgas Zhumagulov[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Vanessa Melo[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Karol Rosa[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Martin Day[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Davey Grant[/autotag]
Calvin Kattar and Dan Ige

The promotion then returns on July 15 with an event headlined by featherweight contenders [autotag]Calvin Kattar[/autotag] (21-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and [autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag] (14-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC).

The complete lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (10 p.m. ET)

  • Calvin Kattar vs. Dan Ige
  • [autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Carla Esparza[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Marina Rodriguez[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Abdul Razak Alhassan[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Mounir Lazzez[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Chris Fishgold[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jared Gordon[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY (7 p.m. ET)

  • [autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Vinicius Moreira[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Molly McCann[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Taila Santos[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Lerone Murphy[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ricardo Ramos[/autotag]
  • [autotag]John Phillips[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Dusko Todorovic[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Ryan Benoit[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tim Elliott[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Diana Belbita[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Liana Jojua[/autotag]
Joseph Benavidez and Deiveson Figueiredo

Three days later, on July 18, the promotion hosts its third card in eight days, when top flyweight contenders [autotag]Deiveson Figueiredo[/autotag] (18-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) and [autotag]Joseph Benavidez[/autotag] (28-6 MMA, 15-4 UFC) meet for a second time with the vacant UFC flyweight title on the line.

The full card includes:

MAIN CARD (9 p.m. ET)

  • Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Joseph Benavidez – for vacant flyweight title
  • [autotag]Kelvin Gastelum[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jack Hermansson[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Marc Diakiese[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Rafael Fiziev[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Luana Carolina[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ariane Lipski[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Askar Askarov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY CARD (6 p.m. ET)

  • [autotag]Roman Dolidze[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Khadis Ibragimov[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Nad Narimani[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Joel Alvarez[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Joe Duffy[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Montel Jackson[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Brett Johns[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Aleksander Doskalchuk[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tagir Ulanbekov[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Davi Ramos[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Carlos Felipe[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Serghei Spivac[/autotag]
Darren Till and Robert Whittaker

Finally, the UFC’s run in Abu Dhabi ends on July 25 with a much-anticipated middleweight contest between former champion [autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag] (20-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) and former welterweight title challenger [autotag]Darren Till[/autotag] (18-2-1 MMA, 6-2-1 UFC).

That night’s full lineup includes:

MAIN CARD

  • Robert Whittaker vs. Darren Till
  • [autotag]Antonio Rogerio Nogueira[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Mauricio Rua[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Alex Oliveira[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Peter Sobotta[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Alexander Gustafsson[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Fabricio Werdum[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Nicolas Dalby[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Danny Roberts[/autotag]

PRELIMINARY CARD

  • [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jake Collier[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Raphael Pessoa[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Justin Tafa[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Movsar Evloev[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Mike Grundy[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Bethe Correia[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Pannie Kianzad[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Nathaniel Wood[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Ramazan Emeev[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag]

Marvin Vettori, Nicolas Dalby among fighters who say they were compensated for UFC London cancellation

Ten days after the cancellation of UFC London, Marvin Vettori, Nicolas Dalby and others say the UFC has compensated them.

It appears the fighters on the UFC London card have been taken care of financially after the event fell through due to the global coronavirus pandemic.

Marvin Vettori, Nicolas Dalby and other fighters on the card who had their bouts pulled when UFC on ESPN+ 29 was scrapped in March took to social media to thank the UFC for sorting them out.

California resident Vettori was scheduled to face Darren Stewart on the card and was willing to compete before a travel ban put a halt to his plans.

In a unique turn of events, Stewart was rebooked on the Cage Warriors 113 card against Bartosz Fabinski, who also had lost his original UFC London opponent due to travel restrictions.

Now 10 days later, Vettori said the UFC has taken care of him and posted about it on Twitter:

“Thank to the @ufc for taking care of me for the London card situation, I’ve been all in from day 1 in this and it’s good to see that even in hard times like these the work im doing is being recognized. Always ready always working. Thank you @ufc @danawhite @Mickmaynard2”

Vettori (14-3-1 MMA, 4-2-1 UFC) is coming off back-to-back wins for the first time in his UFC career with victories over Cezar Ferreira and Andrew Sanchez. The Italy native’s homeland has taken a massive hit during the pandemic, but Vettori reported this past week that his family is safe and healthy during its own lockdown.

Dalby had his co-main event fight with Danny Roberts completely scrapped from the card. He made a triumphant return to the octagon this past September in his home country of Denmark with a win over Alex Oliveira by unanimous decision, giving him four straight victories.

“As a fighter AND a father & family provider I would like to take a moment to thank @seanshelby, @danawhite and @ufc for stepping up and taking care of us fighters from the cancelled #UFCLondon event! These times are taking a huge hit on all of us, even UFC. So I really commend you for helping us get through this tough period so we can take care of our families and stay ready to fight as soon as possible and once again put on exciting fights for the fans, in the best fight promotion in the world 🙏🏼❤️💪🏼
#Thankful | #GoodKarma | #StaySafe”

More fighters chimed in with their gratitude toward the UFC while they cope through these tough times.

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Video: Watch the best of Cage Warriors from 2019 in their end-of-year highlight reel

Recap a memorable year of action from European promotion Cage Warriors in their 2019 highlight film.

European promotion Cage Warriors has forged a well-earned reputation as one of the key regional promotions for fighters looking to launch their careers to the world stage.

The London-based organization has seen 93 of its fighters graduate to the UFC over the years, including former UFC champions Conor McGregor, Michael Bisping and Joanna Jedrzejczyk, and continues to produce UFC-ready talent, with former champions Jack Shore and Nathaniel Wood tipped for stardom on the big stage in the months and years ahead.

The promotion had a big year in 2019, holding 11 events in total, including an historic night at the iconic Hammersmith Apollo in London for “Cage Warriors 106: Night of Champions” and a return to the BT Sport studios for their “Cage Warriors: Unplugged 2” event that featured a one night tournament that crowned its new bantamweight champion, [autotag]Jack Cartwright[/autotag].

Cage Warriors bantamweight champion: Jack Cartwright

As well as bantamweight, the organization crowned new champions at flyweight, featherweight, lightweight, middleweight and light heavyweight, as [autotag]Samir Faiddine[/autotag], [autotag]Mads Burnell[/autotag], [autotag]Jai Herbert[/autotag], [autotag]Nathias Frederick[/autotag] and [autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag] all captured championship gold in their respective weight classes.

And Scotland’s undefeated welterweight champion [autotag]Ross Houston[/autotag] held on to his 170-pound title after his epic back-and-forth war with interim champion [autotag]Nicolas Dalby[/autotag] was ruled a no contest after the cage floor became flooded with blood from both men after one of the most punishing contests ever seen inside the Cage Warriors cage.

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It all added up to a spectacular year for Cage Warriors, who have already announced a packed schedule of events for 2020, including a return to London’s Indigo at The O2 on Mar. 20, just one day before the UFC packs the main O2 Arena the following night for UFC London.

Relive the best of Cage Warriors in 2019 via the video above.

 

Danny Roberts vs. Nicolas Dalby added to UFC London

A welterweight clash between Danny Roberts and Nicolas Dalby is the latest addition to UFC London.

A welterweight clash is the latest addition to UFC London.

[autotag]Danny Roberts[/autotag](17-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC) will take on [autotag]Nicolas Dalby[/autotag] (18-3-1 MMA, 2-2-1 UFC), UFC officials announced Monday. The card, which does not yet have a main event, takes place at O2 Arena in London and is expected to either air on ESPN or stream on ESPN+.

Roberts snapped a two-fight losing skid with a thunderous second-round knockout over Zelim Imadeav in Russia, as he is set to compete in front of his home country fans for the fourth time in his UFC career.

Dalby made good on his return to the octagon in front of a sold out hometown crowd in Copenhagen, where he defeated Alex Oliveira via unanimous decision in September for his fourth win in a row.

The current UFC London lineup includes:

  • John Phillips vs. Dusko Todorovic
  • Darren Stewart vs. Marvin Vettori
  • Tom Aspinall vs. Raphael Pessoa
  • Ashlee Evans-Smith vs. Molly McCann
  • Marc Diakiese vs. Stevie Ray
  • Paul Craig vs. Ryan Spann
  • Nicolas Dalby vs. Danny Roberts

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