UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Dvalishvili
| Industry | Mixed martial arts promotion |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1993 |
| Headquarters | Las Vegas , United States |
| Products | Mixed martial arts events |
| Website | www |
UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Dvalishvili, also referred to as UFC Fight Night 221 or UFC on ESPN+ 79, was a mixed martial arts competition organized by the Ultimate Fighting Championship, taking place on March 11, 2023, at The Theater at Virgin Hotels located in Paradise, Nevada, United States.
Background
The venue, previously known as The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, hosted multiple UFC and WEC events during the early 2000s. This event marked UFC’s return to the location following its rebranding and was the first event held there since December 2012.
Initially, the main card was to be led by a light heavyweight clash between former title contender Anthony Smith and Jamahal Hill. However, Hill was reassigned to headline UFC 283 for the vacant light heavyweight championship against ex-champion Glover Teixeira. Subsequently, Smith was booked to fight Johnny Walker in May.
The headline bout featured a bantamweight contest between ex-UFC Bantamweight Champion Petr Yan and top contender Merab Dvalishvili.
Among other significant matchups was a bantamweight fight between Mario Bautista and Guido Cannetti, rescheduled after Bautista had to withdraw from their previous encounter due to COVID-19 complications.
A middleweight bout planned between Makhmud Muradov and Abusupiyan Magomedov was canceled after Muradov withdrew once again because of injury.
In the bantamweight division, a fight initially set between Raphael Assunção and Kyler Phillips saw Phillips replaced by Davey Grant following his withdrawal.
A light heavyweight bout featuring Nikita Krylov against former LFA Light Heavyweight Champion Ryan Spann, originally scheduled to headline an earlier event but canceled due to Krylov’s illness, was rescheduled for this card at a catchweight of 215 pounds.
A welterweight fight between Carlston Harris and Abubakar Nurmagomedov underwent changes after Nurmagomedov pulled out; Jared Gooden stepped in but failed to make weight by six pounds. The bout proceeded at catchweight with Gooden penalized 30% of his purse.
At the official weigh-ins, featherweight Ricardo Ramos missed the limit by eight pounds, resulting in the cancellation of his fight against Austin Lingo.
Results
Bonus awards
The organization granted $50,000 bonuses to standout performers:
- Fight of the Night: Vitor Petrino vs. Anton Turkalj
- Performance of the Night: Davey Grant and Bruno Gustavo da Silva
Aftermath
The UFC event established a new benchmark by achieving the highest number of takedowns in one event, totaling 59.