UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till

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 light heavyweight bout between the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Maurício Rua (also 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Champion) and Antônio Rogério Nogueira.[4] The pairing previously met at PRIDE Critical Countdown 2005 and UFC 190, with Rua winning both fights.[5] The bout was scheduled for the original May 9 date of UFC 250 that later became UFC 249, but cancelled due to the relocation of the event.[6] Nogueira announced that he planned to retire after this bout.[7]
• A women's bantamweight bout between former title challenger Bethe Correia and Pannie Kianzad.[8] This bout was also scheduled for the original May 9 date of UFC 250 and removed for the same reasons as the fight above it.[6]
• A welterweight bout between Danny Roberts and Nicolas Dalby.[9] They were scheduled to meet at UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs. Edwards, but the event was the first of five to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[10] However, Roberts was forced off the card due to injury and replaced by returning veteran Jesse Ronson.[11]
• A heavyweight bout between Tom Aspinall and Jake Collier.[9] This fight was also scheduled for UFC Fight Night: Woodley vs. Edwards and removed for the same reasons as the previous one.[10]

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]

[21]

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

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]

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]

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