UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny
| Company type | Mixed martial arts event |
|---|---|
| Industry | Sports entertainment |
| Founded | January 20, 2021 |
| Headquarters | Abu Dhabi , United Arab Emirates |
Area served | International |
UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny—also referred to as UFC on ESPN 20 and UFC Fight Island 8'—was a mixed martial arts competition hosted by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 20, 2021. The event took place at the Etihad Arena located on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Background
Following UFC on ABC: Holloway vs. Kattar, the newly constructed Etihad Arena welcomed a limited number of spectators, marking the first instance of non-essential attendees since UFC 248 in March 2020. Although the venue can accommodate over 18,000 spectators, the UFC anticipated approximately 2,000 fans for each Fight Island event.
Initially, a welterweight showdown between Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev was slated to headline; however, it was postponed due to COVID-19 related issues affecting both fighters. Consequently, the main event featured a welterweight contest between Michael Chiesa and Neil Magny.
A women's flyweight bout involving former title contender Roxanne Modafferi and Viviane Araújo was rescheduled for this card after being previously planned for January 30.
The flyweight encounter between Matt Schnell and Tyson Nam was also rearranged for this event, following Schnell’s earlier medical withdrawal connected to weight-cutting complications.
In late December 2020, the UFC canceled the January 30 event and transferred multiple fights to this card, including:
- A welterweight matchup initially scheduled several times between ex-interim champion Carlos Condit and Matt Brown, which was later moved to UFC on ABC: Holloway vs. Kattar.
- A flyweight bout featuring Jeff Molina versus Zarrukh Adashev, with Molina withdrawing due to COVID-19; he was replaced by Su Mudaerji.
- A light heavyweight contest between Vinicius Moreira and Isaac Villanueva.
- A bantamweight rematch between seasoned fighters Pedro Munhoz and Jimmie Rivera, which subsequently shifted to UFC 258.
- A women’s flyweight fight involving newcomers Victoria Leonardo and originally Natália Silva, who withdrew because of injury and was replaced by debutant Manon Fiorot.
A welterweight bout pairing Mike Jackson with Dean Barry was briefly arranged but later canceled for undisclosed reasons.
The middleweight clash between Dalcha Lungiambula and Isi Fitikefu was rescheduled, with Fitikefu withdrawing due to injury and replaced by Markus Perez.
The bantamweight debut of newcomers Umar Nurmagomedov against Sergey Morozov, postponed multiple times previously, finally took place during this event.
Additionally, the middleweight fight between Omari Akhmedov and Tom Breese, postponed earlier due to COVID-19 issues, was rescheduled here.
Bonus awards
Monetary bonuses of $50,000 were awarded as follows:
- Fight of the Night: Mike Davis vs. Mason Jones
- Performance of the Night: Warlley Alves and Umar Nurmagomedov