UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Gaethje
| Industry | Mixed martial arts event |
|---|---|
| Founded | September 14, 2019 |
| Headquarters | Vancouver, British Columbia , Canada |
| Website | www |
UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Gaethje—also referred to as UFC Fight Night 158 or UFC on ESPN+ 16'—was a mixed martial arts competition organized by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 14, 2019, hosted at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Background
The headline matchup featured a lightweight contest between former UFC Lightweight Championship contender Donald Cerrone and ex-WSOF Lightweight Champion Justin Gaethje.
Initially, a middleweight clash was planned between former WSOF Middleweight and Light Heavyweight Champion David Branch and The Ultimate Fighter: Team Joanna vs. Team Cláudia light heavyweight victor Andrew Sanchez. However, this bout was canceled after Branch withdrew because of injury, and Sanchez later pulled out due to an eye infection. The matchup was postponed and later took place at UFC Fight Night: Joanna vs. Waterson.
A welterweight fight involving Michel Pereira and Sergey Khandozhko encountered complications when Khandozhko faced visa difficulties, leading to his replacement by promotional debutant Tristan Connelly. Pereira failed to make the welterweight limit, weighing in at 172 pounds—one pound over the allowable limit—which resulted in a 20% fine of his fight purse. Despite this, the bout continued at catchweight.
Results
{{MMAevent bout |Heavyweight |Todd Duffee |vs. |Jeff Hughes |No Contest (accidental eye poke) |1 |4:03 |} }
Bonus awards
Monetary bonuses of $50,000 were awarded as follows:
- Fight of the Night: Tristan Connelly vs. Michel Pereira (Since Pereira missed weight and was therefore ineligible, Connelly received a total of $100,000.)
- Performance of the Night: Justin Gaethje and Misha Cirkunov