Mike Davis and Victoria Leonardo are facing potential six-month suspensions for injuries sustained in their fights.
[autotag]Mike Davis[/autotag] and [autotag]Victoria Leonardo[/autotag] are facing potential six-month medical suspensions after UFC on ESPN 20.
Davis (9-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC), who earned the “Fight of the Night” honor in a unanimous decision win over Mason Jones, needs clearance for his left thumb for his hard-fought battle with Jones.
Joining Davis with a potential 180-day term is Leonardo (8-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC), who needs clearance for her right forearm after suffering a second-round stoppage loss to Manon Fiorot.
MMA Junkie on Friday obtained the full list of suspensions from MixedMartialArts.com, the Association of Boxing Commissions’ official record keeper.
The full list of UFC on ESPN 20 medical suspensions includes:
[autotag]Michael Chiesa[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days due to right eye laceration.
[autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag]: Suspended seven days (mandatory rest).
[autotag]Warlley Alves[/autotag]: Suspended seven days (mandatory rest).
[autotag]Mounir Lazzez[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days due to rib soreness.
[autotag]Ike Villanueva[/autotag]: Suspended seven days (mandatory rest).
[autotag]Vinicius Moreira[/autotag]: Suspended 60 days with no contact for 45 days due to knockout loss.
[autotag]Roxanne Modafferi[/autotag]: Suspended 45 days with no contact for 30 days due to “hard bout.”
[autotag]Viviane Araujo[/autotag]: Suspended seven days (mandatory rest).
[autotag]Matt Schnell[/autotag]: Suspended seven days (mandatory rest).
[autotag]Tyson Nam[/autotag]: Suspended seven days (mandatory rest).
[autotag]Lerone Murphy[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days due to right cheek laceration.
[autotag]Douglas Silva de Andrade[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days.
[autotag]Omari Akhmedov[/autotag]: Suspended seven days (mandatory rest).
[autotag]Tom Breese[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days due to “hard bout.”
[autotag]Ricky Simon[/autotag]: Suspended seven days (mandatory rest).
[autotag]Gaetano Pirello[/autotag]: Suspended seven days (mandatory rest).
[autotag]Su Mudaerji[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days due to chin laceration.
[autotag]Zarrukh Adashev[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days due to “hard bout.”
[autotag]Dalcha Lungiambula[/autotag]: Suspended seven days (mandatory rest).
[autotag]Markus Perez[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days due to scalp laceration.
[autotag]Francisco Figueiredo[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days due to “hard bout.”
[autotag]Jerome Rivera[/autotag]: Suspended seven days (mandatory rest).
Mike Davis: Needs X-ray for left thumb, and clearance by doctor, otherwise suspended 180 days; minimum suspension is 30 days with 21 days no contact.
[autotag]Mason Jones[/autotag]: Suspended 45 days with no contact for 30 days.
[autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag]: Suspended seven days (mandatory rest).
[autotag]Sergey Morozov[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days due to “hard bout.”
Victoria Leonardo: Needs X-ray for right forearm, and clearance by doctor, otherwise suspended 180 days; minimum suspension is 30 days with 21 days no contact.
[autotag]Manon Fiorot[/autotag]: Suspended seven days (mandatory rest).
Watch Ike Villanueva’s violent one-punch knockout of Vinicius Moreira.
[autotag]Ike Villanueva[/autotag] picked up his first UFC win Wednesday – and it was one for the highlight reel.
With his back potentially up against the wall, Villanueva (16-11 MMA, 1-2 UFC) landed a massive overhand right early in Round 2 that floored and disoriented opponent [autotag]Vinicius Moreira[/autotag].
As Moreira (9-5 MMA, 0-4 UFC) hit the canvas and the referee analyzed the situation, Villanueva blessed himself and pointed to the sky. In case there was any doubt the fight was over, referee Jason Herzog waved off the bout 39 seconds into the second round.
Villanueva, 37, punched his ticket into the win column after back-to-back losses to kick off his UFC tenure. The former Fury FC champion was signed to the UFC in early 2020 and was finished twice by TKO – once by Chase Sherman and once by Jordan Wright.
Moreira’s woes continued. In all four of his UFC outings, Moreira has been finished with strikes. UFC on ESPN 20 was the first time Moreira made it to the second round.
Check out the violent knockout in the video below:
We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 20 event in Abu Dhabi.
We want your predictions for Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 20 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 Monday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).
Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the UFC on ESPN 20 event staff predictions we release Tuesday ahead of the event. UFC on ESPN 20 takes place Wednesday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The card airs on ESPN.
Make your picks for the six main card fights below.
“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]
Cage Warriors light heavyweight champion Modestas Bukauskas has a date and location for his UFC debut.
Cage Warriors light heavyweight champion [autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag] has a date and location for his UFC debut.
Bukauskas (10-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will fight [autotag]Vinicius Moreira[/autotag] as part of the UFC event July 15 on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The event is one-of-four the UFC is holding in 15 days on “Fight Island.”
A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the booking to MMA Junkie after an initial report by Combate. The person asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
The pair was originally matched up for the UFC’s May event in San Diego, which was canceled due to the pandemic.
Bukauskas, 26, has won six-straight fights – all by finish. In his most recent outing at Cage Warriors 111 in November, Bukauskas successfully defended his title for the first time – defeating Riccardo Nosiglia by first-round knockout.
Moreira (9-4 MMA, 0-3 UFC) has been unsuccessful in all three of his UFC attempts. The Dana White’s Contender Series signee has been finished in all three attempts – twice by knockout and once by submission.
With the addition, the current July 15 lineup includes:
Tyson Pedro has revealed that an injury has forced him out of his upcoming bout vs. Vinicius Moreira at UFC Auckland.
After a year on the shelf recovering from knee surgery, Australian light heavyweight [autotag]Tyson Pedro[/autotag] revealed his plans for an early 2020 comeback have been put on hold.
Pedro (7-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) was scheduled to take on [autotag]Vinicius Moreira[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN+ 26 in Auckland, New Zealand. But the 28-year-old revealed he will no longer be competing on Feb. 22 due to an undisclosed injury.
He provided a statement on social media addressing his fans.
“Peaks and Valleys 🏔 Just when you think everything is going to your plan something hits you upside the head with a different one. Out of the fight in Feb, I’m gutted but thank you for all the messages. I’m not stressed as I know I’m coming back, I’ve never stopped before, so I’m not going to now. Every time I’ve messed up in life, been injured or blind sighted, something good came out from it, that I couldn’t see at the time. So until then, it’s all smiles and time to grind again. A massive positive was being able to connect and train with the boys down @citykickboxing thanks for having my family come through and showing us love. I’m praying for good news from the surgeon and a quick turnaround ✊🏽✊🏽 #hopeforthebestplanfortheworst#1yearrecovery2weekcamp
#ifnotmethenwho”
Pedro has not competed since December 2018, when he suffered a third-round TKO loss to Shogun Rua – his second straight defeat. He spent the whole of 2019 recovering from a knee injury he sustained during that bout and was on target for an early-2020 return against Contender Series alum Moreira (9-4 MMA, 0-3 UFC), who is still chasing his first win since graduating to the full UFC roster.
But now, following the news of Pedro’s latest injury, it seems the amiable Aussie’s return to action will have to wait a little longer.
