UFC mixed martial arts event in 2020
UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till (also known as UFC on ESPN 14 and UFC Fight Island 3) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 26, 2020 at the du Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.[2]
Background
This event was the fourth and final UFC Fight Island event that took place on Yas Island, following UFC 251, UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige and UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2, as part of a plan to facilitate the hosting of events involving fighters impacted by U.S. travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]
A middleweight bout between former UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker (also The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes welterweight winner) and former UFC Welterweight Championship challenger Darren Till served as the event headliner.[3]
The event also included fighters that were pulled from other events previously cancelled, as well as the following bouts:
A welterweight bout between Ramazan Emeev and Shavkat Rakhmonov was expected to take place at the event. However, Rakhmonov was forced to withdraw due to injury on July 2 and replaced by Niklas Stolze.[12][13]
Umar Nurmagomedov was expected to face Nathaniel Wood in a bantamweight bout at this event. However, he pulled out on July 3 after his uncle, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov (also the father of former UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov), died from complications related to COVID-19.[14] He was replaced by promotional newcomer John Castañeda.[15]
A women's strawweight bout between former Invicta FC and UFC Women's Strawweight Champion Carla Esparza and Marina Rodriguez was scheduled for UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Ige nine days earlier. However, a Rodriguez cornerman tested positive for COVID-19 and the bout was cancelled. Rodriguez had her test come back negative, but the bout was scrapped due to precautionary reasons.[16] They were rescheduled for this event.[17]
Justin Tafa was expected to face Raphael Pessoa in a heavyweight bout at this event. However, he pulled out on July 15 due to unknown reasons and was replaced by Tanner Boser.[18]
At the weigh-ins, Francisco Trinaldo weighed in at 160 pounds, four pounds over the lightweight non-title fight limit. His bout proceeded at a catchweight and he was fined 30% of his purse, which went to his opponent Jai Herbert.[19]
Bonus awards
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[22]
- Fight of the Night: No bonus awarded.
- Performance of the Night: Fabrício Werdum, Paul Craig, Khamzat Chimaev, Jesse Ronson, Tom Aspinall and Tanner Boser
Records set
The event's 15 bouts tied UFC 2 for the most on a single card in UFC history.[23]
Khamzat Chimaev broke the record for quickest turnaround between UFC wins at 10 days (not including one-night-tournaments during the UFC's early days).[24]
Aftermath
On November 18, it was announced by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) that Jesse Ronson was suspended for 20 months after he tested positive for metandienone in an out-of-competition test conducted on July 22 and didn't disclose his use of the substance in his onboarding documents prior to re-joining the UFC. His suspension is retroactive to the test failure, meaning he'll be cleared to compete on March 22, 2022. They also announced that Ronson's victory was overturned to a no contest due to the violation.[20]
