UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs. Imavov
| Company type | Mixed martial arts event |
|---|---|
| Industry | Sports entertainment |
| Founded | January 14, 2023 |
| Headquarters | Enterprise, Nevada , United States |
Area served | Worldwide (via broadcast) |
| Parent | Ultimate Fighting Championship |
UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs. Imavov, also referred to as UFC Fight Night 217, UFC on ESPN+ 75, and UFC Vegas 67, was a mixed martial arts competition organized by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 14, 2023. The event took place at the UFC Apex facility located in Enterprise, Nevada, within the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area.
Background
The original main event featured a middleweight clash between former interim UFC Middleweight Championship contender and The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen victor Kelvin Gastelum and Nassourdine Imavov. This fight had been postponed from UFC 273 due to visa complications faced by Imavov. However, Gastelum withdrew during the week leading up to the event because of a mouth injury. He was substituted by Sean Strickland, and the bout was subsequently contested at light heavyweight.
A heavyweight matchup between Jailton Almeida and Shamil Abdurakhimov was initially planned for this card but was later moved to UFC 283, scheduled for the following week.
In the flyweight division, Jeff Molina was slated to face Jimmy Flick but pulled out for undisclosed reasons. Charles Johnson stepped in as his replacement. Subsequently, Molina received a suspension from the Nevada Athletic Commission amid an investigation related to a betting scandal.
Welterweights Geoff Neal and Shavkat Rakhmonov were expected to compete; however, Neal withdrew due to injury, postponing their encounter until UFC 285.
Lightweight Omar Morales also withdrew from his bout against Mateusz Rębecki and was replaced by Nick Fiore.
Featherweight Isaac Dulgarian exited his scheduled fight with Daniel Argueta, with promotional newcomer Nick Aguirre taking his place.
A featherweight contest between Jarno Errens and David Onama was canceled after Errens suffered a shoulder injury.
A women's flyweight bout featuring Priscila Cachoeira and Sijara Eubanks was arranged but canceled one day before the event due to Eubanks experiencing difficulties managing her weight.
Bonus awards
Four competitors each received $50,000 performance bonuses:
- Performance of the Night: Dan Ige, Roman Kopylov, Umar Nurmagomedov, and Allan Nascimento
- No award was given for Fight of the Night.