UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Stephens

UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Stephens (also known as UFC Fight Night 159 or UFC on ESPN+ 17) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 21, 2019, at Mexico City Arena in Mexico City, Mexico.[2][3]

UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Stephens
The poster for UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Stephens
Information
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateSeptember 21, 2019 (2019-09-21)
VenueMexico City Arena
CityMexico City, Mexico
Attendance10,112[1]
Event chronology
UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Gaethje UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Stephens UFC Fight Night: Hermansson vs. Cannonier

Background

While not officially announced by the organization, the promotion was initially targeting a featherweight bout between former title challengers Brian Ortega and Chan Sung Jung to serve as the event headliner.[4] However, promotion officials elected to go in another direction and a featherweight bout between The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America featherweight winner Yair Rodríguez and Jeremy Stephens served as the main event.[5]

A women's strawweight bout between Istela Nunes and former Invicta FC Strawweight Champion Angela Hill was scheduled for the event. However, on August 12, it was reported that Nunes was removed from the card due to a failed drug test.[6] She was replaced by Ariane Carnelossi.[7]

Alex Perez was scheduled to face Sergio Pettis at the event. However, Perez pulled out of the bout on August 26 citing an injury.[8] He was replaced by promotional newcomer Tyson Nam.[9]

Marion Reneau was scheduled to face Irene Aldana at the event. However, Reneau pulled out of the bout on September 11 for undisclosed reasons.[10] She was replaced by promotional newcomer Vanessa Melo.[11] At the weigh-ins, Melo weighed in at 140 pounds, 4 pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit of 136. She was fined 30% of her purse and her bout with Aldana proceeded at a catchweight.[12]

Results
Main Card (ESPN+)
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Featherweight Yair Rodríguez vs. Jeremy Stephens No Contest (accidental eye poke) 1 0:15 [lower-alpha 1]
Women's Strawweight Carla Esparza def. Alexa Grasso Decision (majority) (28–28, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Flyweight Askar Askarov vs. Brandon Moreno Draw (split) (28–28, 29–28, 27–30) 3 5:00
Catchweight (140 lb) Irene Aldana def. Vanessa Melo Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 30–26, 30–26) 3 5:00
Featherweight Steven Peterson def. Martin Bravo KO (spinning backfist) 2 1:31
Preliminary Card (ESPN+)
Bantamweight José Alberto Quiñónez def. Carlos Huachin Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00
Featherweight Kyle Nelson def. Polo Reyes TKO (punches) 1 1:36
Women's Strawweight Angela Hill def. Ariane Carnelossi TKO (doctor stoppage) 3 1:56
Flyweight Sergio Pettis def. Tyson Nam Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) 3 5:00
Light Heavyweight Paul Craig def. Vinicius Moreira Submission (rear-naked choke) 1 3:19
Women's Bantamweight Bethe Correia def. Sijara Eubanks Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Lightweight Claudio Puelles def. Marcos Rosa Mariano Decision (unanimous) (30–25, 30–25, 30–25) 3 5:00
  1. An accidental eye poke rendered Stephens unable to continue.

[13]

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.[1]

  • Fight of the Night: Carla Esparza vs. Alexa Grasso
  • Performance of the Night: Steven Peterson and Paul Craig

See also

References
  1. Fernando Quiles Jr. (2019-09-22). "UFC Mexico City bonuses & attendance revealed". mmanews.com. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
  2. Newswire (2019-05-12). "UFC announces dates for third, fourth quarter of 2019, including returns to Sacramento, San Antonio, Mexico City". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2019-05-12.
  3. Ryan Harkness (2019-05-12). "UFC reveals event schedule for remainder of 2019". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2019-05-12.
  4. Adam Guillen Jr. (2019-07-15). "Brian Ortega vs Korean Zombie targeted for Fight Night event in Mexico City on Sept. 21". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  5. Ariel Helwani (2019-07-26). "Yair Rodriguez to fight in native Mexico". espn.com. Retrieved 2019-07-27.
  6. Guilherme Cruz (2019-08-12). "Istela Nunes out of UFC Mexico City with anti-doping violation". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2019-08-13.
  7. Redactie (2019-08-13). "Ariane Carnelossi replaces Istela Nunes against Angela Hill during UFC Mexico City". mmadna.nl. Retrieved 2019-08-13. (in Dutch)
  8. Farah Hannoun (2019-08-26). "Alex Perez withdraws from UFC on ESPN+ 17 fight vs. Sergio Pettis in Mexico City". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  9. Redactie (27 August 2019). "Tyson Nam replaces Alex Perez against Sergio Pettis during UFC Mexico City". mmadan.nl. Retrieved 2019-08-28. (in Dutch)
  10. John Morgan (2019-09-11). "Marion Reneau out of planned bout with Irene Aldana at next week's UFC on ESPN+ 17". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2019-09-11.
  11. Diego Ribas (2019-09-11). "Vanessa 'Miss Sympathy' replaces Marion Reneau to fight at UFC Mexico". esportes.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2019-09-11. (in Portuguese)
  12. Alexander K. Lee (2019-09-20). "UFC Mexico City weigh-in results: Short-notice replacement Vanessa Melo misses weight by four pounds". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
  13. "UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Stephens". Ultimate Fighting Championship. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
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