UFC Fight Night 201 – Page 4 – Syndication Server

Visa issues shift Rafael dos Anjos vs. Rafael Fiziev to UFC 272 co-main event

Just eight days out from UFC Fight Night 201, Rafael dos Anjos vs. Rafael Fiziev has been pulled as the main event and moved to UFC 272.

The UFC Fight Night 201 main event is off just eight days out from the event.

Issues pertaining to [autotag]Rafael Fiziev[/autotag]’s travel visa have prevented him from meeting former champ [autotag]Rafael dos Anjos[/autotag] in the Feb. 26 lightweight headliner, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and streams on ESPN+.

The situation won’t cancel the bout entirely, though. The promotion has already made plans to reschedule dos Anjos (31-13 MMA, 19-11 UFC) vs. Fiziev (11-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) as the co-main event for UFC 272 on March 5, with five rounds remaining in tact.

MMA Junkie verified the changes with a person close to the situation following an initial report from MMA journalist Ariel Helwani. The person requested anonymity because the UFC has yet to make an official announcement.

It’s unknown at this time which fight will replace dos Anjos vs. Fiziev as the UFC Fight Night 201 main event. A light heavyweight bout between Jamahal Hill and Johnny Walker is the current co-headliner.

Fiziev is enjoying a very successful stretch in his career. The muay-Thai specialist is on a five-fight winning streak, which includes notable wins over Renato Moicano, Bobby Green and, most recently, Brad Riddell. Fiziev’s lone professional MMA defeat came in his UFC debut back in 2019 to the hands of Magomed Mustafaev.

On the other hand, ex-UFC lightweight champion dos Anjos looks to stay in the win column since dropping back down to 155 pounds following an eight-fight run at welterweight. The Brazilian returned to the lightweight division in November 2020, defeating Paul Felder by decision. Prior to that, dos Anjos was mired in a 1-4 stretch at welterweight.

UFC 272 takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with a main card that airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

Check out the latest lineup for the card below:

Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal – five-round fight
Rafael dos Anjos vs. Rafael Fiziev – five-round fight
Marina Rodriguez vs. Yan Xiaonan
Edson Barboza vs. Bryce Mitchell
Greg Hardy vs. Serghei Spivac
Erick Gonzalez vs. Devonte Smith
Mariya Agapova vs. Maryna Moroz
Jamie Mullarkey vs. Jalin Turner
Nicolae Negumereanu vs. Ihor Potieria
Kevin Holland vs. Alex Oliveira
Jessica Eye vs. Manon Fiorot
Tim Elliott vs. Tagir Ulanbekov
Dustin Jacoby vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
Brian Kelleher vs. Umar Nurmagomedov

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Julian Marquez, Austin Lingo out of UFC Fight Night 201 matchups

Next week’s UFC Fight Night 201 card suddenly has started to take a few hits to the lineup.

[autotag]Julian Marquez[/autotag] (9-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) is out of his middleweight matchup against [autotag]Kyle Daukaus[/autotag] (10-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC). A person with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the news to MMA Junkie on Tuesday. The person requested anonymity because the UFC has not yet made a formal announcement.

In addition, [autotag]Austin Lingo[/autotag] (9-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) is out of his featherweight fight against [autotag]Jonathan Pearce[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC). It is not yet known if Daukaus or Pearce will remain on the card against new opponents.

UFC Fight Night 201 takes place Feb. 19 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

Marquez has post-fight bonuses in two straight fights. He submitted Maki Pitolo and, most recently, Sam Alvey at UFC on ABC 2 in April 2021. Marquez was scheduled to face Jordan Wright at UFC Fight Night 195 this past October, but the fight was canceled when Marquez withdrew with non-COVID health issues.

Daukaus, a former CFFC middleweight champion, is coming off a no contest against Holland this past October. Originally a submission win for Daukaus, the decision was overturned after replays revealed an accidental clash of heads knocked Holland unconscious and led to the fight-ending sequence.

Daukaus was supposed to fight Holland in a rematch at UFC Fight Night 197 this past November. Holland had to pull out with an injury. Then replacement Roman Dolidze was pulled due to COVID-19 protocols. Now his fight with Marquez, which was booked shortly after the Dolidze cancellation, is off.

With the changes, the UFC Fight Night 201 lineup now includes:

Rafael dos Anjos vs. Rafael Fiziev
Jamahal Hill vs. Johnny Walker
Jessica-Rose Clark vs. Stephanie Egger
Chad Anheliger vs. Jesse Strader
Chas Skelly vs. Mark Striegl
Diana Belbita vs. Gloria de Paula
Kyle Daukaus vs. TBA
Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Joaquin Buckley
Jim Miller vs. Nikolas Motta
Jonathan Pearce vs. TBA
Mario Bautista vs. TBA
Alan Baudot vs. Parker Porter
Gabriel Benitez vs. David Onama

Jonathan Pearce: Austin Lingo durable, but ‘this guy plays right into my game’

Heading into his next fight with Austin Lingo as a big favorite, Jonathan Pearce’s confidence is riding high.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Heading into his next fight as a big favorite, [autotag]Jonathan Pearce[/autotag]’s confidence is riding high.

Pearce (11-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) will look to make it three straight when he meets [autotag]Austin Lingo[/autotag] (9-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 201 on Feb. 19. Now that he’s back down to 145 pounds, the 29-year-old has found his groove.

“I’m feeling like it’s a takeover – 145 pounds is my division,” Pearce recently told MMA Junkie. “You can’t beat a 3-1 odds favorite, so (I’m) just excited to get out there and show everybody what I’ve been doing.”

He takes on “Lights Out” Lingo, who primarily likes to stand and bang while looking for the knockout. But Pearce thinks despite Lingo’s toughness, his grappling game will be too much for him.

“I think the No. 1 thing is his durability – that he’s a durable fighter, and people like Luis (Saldana), they got hurt trying to finish him or they faded in the fight, got tired, and then didn’t have enough gas at the end because they put it all in the first,” Pearce said.

“But I think this guy plays right into my game. I feel with my wrestling and what I did to Omar (Morales) and what I did to Kai Kamaka, it’s kind of like the same thing Khabib (Nurmagomedov) did at his weight class. I know I can get all those guys to the cage at some point in the fight and get that takedown and take the back.”

Having only gone the distance once in 11 professional wins, which came in just his second fight, Pearce hopes he can eventually break through into the rankings if he continues putting people away.

“I want to fight three times this year. If I get lucky, let’s fight four times,” Pearce said. “Let’s try to break (into) the top 15. If they’re not going to give me the top 15, let’s stay undefeated, let’s finish everybody, and let’s show them I’m the dark horse in the division, and I’m really standing up to that name: ‘JSP.'”

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