UFC 215

UFC 215: Nunes vs. Shevchenko 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on September 9, 2017 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.[3][4]

UFC 215: Nunes vs. Shevchenko 2
The poster for UFC 215: Nunes vs. Shevchenko 2.
Information
PromotionUltimate Fighting Championship
DateSeptember 9, 2017 (2017-09-09)
VenueRogers Place
CityEdmonton, Alberta, Canada
Attendance16,232[1]
Total gate$2,028,307[1]
Buyrate100,000[2]
Event chronology
UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Struve UFC 215: Nunes vs. Shevchenko 2 UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Branch

Background

The promotion was initially planning a PPV event for August 19 at a venue to be in announced in the United States (presumably Seattle), possibly with UFC Flyweight Champion and Seattle-area resident Demetrious Johnson. However, those plans were nixed on June 26, though an exact reason wasn’t given.[4] Therefore, an originally scheduled UFC 216 to be held at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on September 9 was renamed as UFC 215.[3]

While the UFC has hosted many events across Canada, the event was the first held in Edmonton (second in Alberta, after UFC 149 in 2012). Zuffa hosted a World Extreme Cagefighting event, WEC 49, at Rexall Place in Edmonton in June 2010.[3]

A UFC Flyweight Championship bout between current champion Demetrious Johnson and Ray Borg was expected to serve as the event headliner. If successful in his title defense, Johnson would have become the UFC fighter with most title defenses of all time, with a total of eleven.[5] In turn, the fight was canceled a day before the event, as Borg was forced to withdraw from the fight on Thursday evening due to illness. According to multiple sources, Borg was battling an illness and was deemed unfit to fight by UFC doctors. His illness was unrelated to his weight cut, sources say.[6] The fight was later rescheduled for UFC 216 the following month.[7]

A UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship bout between current champion Amanda Nunes and multiple-time muay thai world champion Valentina Shevchenko took place at this event.[8] The pairing met previously in March 2016 at UFC 196, with Nunes winning by unanimous decision.[9] The pairing was initially expected to meet again at UFC 213.[10] However, the bout was canceled just hours before the event started as Nunes pulled out, citing an illness despite being medically cleared to fight.[11] Due to the cancelation of the Johnson-Borg bout, this fight acted as the new main event.[6]

A women's bantamweight bout between Sara McMann and Ketlen Vieira was expected to take place at UFC 214, but on July 7 it was announced that the bout was moved to this event.[12]

Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior dos Santos was expected to face Francis Ngannou, but on August 18 it was announced that he was pulled from the card after being notified by USADA of a potential doping violation. He was flagged after an out-of-competition drug test conducted August 10.[13] Dos Santos tested positive for hydrochlorothiazide and his team is currently working on testing supplements as a possible source for it.[14] In turn, Ngannou was removed from the card after promotion officials deemed that a suitable opponent could not be arranged.[15][16]

Results
Main Card
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Women's Bantamweight Amanda Nunes (c) def. Valentina Shevchenko Decision (split) (47–48, 48–47, 48–47) 5 5:00 [lower-alpha 1]
Welterweight Rafael dos Anjos def. Neil Magny Submission (arm-triangle choke) 1 3:43
Flyweight Henry Cejudo def. Wilson Reis TKO (punches) 2 0:25
Light Heavyweight Ilir Latifi def. Tyson Pedro Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27) 3 5:00
Featherweight Jeremy Stephens def. Gilbert Melendez Decision (unanimous) (30–26, 30–26, 30–25) 3 5:00
Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1)
Women's Bantamweight Ketlen Vieira def. Sara McMann Submission (arm-triangle choke) 2 4:16
Women's Bantamweight Sarah Moras def. Ashlee Evans-Smith Submission (armbar) 1 2:51
Featherweight Rick Glenn def. Gavin Tucker Decision (unanimous) (30–25, 30–24, 29–27) 3 5:00
Lightweight Alex White def. Mitch Clarke TKO (punches) 2 4:36
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Heavyweight Arjan Bhullar def. Luis Henrique Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) 3 5:00
Lightweight Kajan Johnson def. Adriano Martins KO (punch) 3 0:49
  1. For the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship.

[17]

Bonus awards

The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses:[18]

  • Fight of the Night: Jeremy Stephens vs. Gilbert Melendez
  • Performance of the Night: Rafael dos Anjos and Henry Cejudo

See also

References
  1. Staff (2017-09-10). "UFC 215 draws announced sellout of 16,232 in Edmonton debut despite losing Johnson-Borg". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-09-10.
  2. "UFC 215 PPV Buys Estimated at 100,000, UFC 216 Not Expected To Be Much Higher".
  3. Staff (2017-04-27). "UFC 216 slated for Sept. 9 in Edmonton". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-04-27.
  4. Staff (2017-06-26). "With Aug. 19 event scrapped, Edmonton now hosts UFC 215 on Sept. 9". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-06-26.
  5. Staff (2017-07-20). "Two title fights headline UFC 215 in Edmonton". tsn.ca. Retrieved 2017-07-20.
  6. Ariel Helwani (2017-09-08). "Demetrious Johnson vs. Ray Borg UFC 215 main event canceled". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2017-09-08.
  7. Shaun Al-Shatti (2017-09-13). "Demetrious Johnson vs. Ray Borg rebooked for UFC 216". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2017-09-13.
  8. Press Release (2017-07-20). "UFC debuts in Edmonton with two thrilling world championship fights". ufc.com. Retrieved 2017-07-20.
  9. Ben Fowlkes (2016-03-05). "UFC 196 results: Amanda Nunes outlasts Valentina Shevchenko for decision win". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-05-04.
  10. Brandon Wise (2017-05-12). "UFC 213: Amanda Nunes vs. Valentina Shevchenko title fight set for July". cbssports.com. Retrieved 2017-05-12.
  11. Ariel Helwani (2017-07-08). "Amanda Nunes ill, out of UFC 213 main event". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2017-07-08.
  12. Staff (2017-07-07). "Sara McMann vs. Ketlen Vieira moved to UFC 215 in Edmonton". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  13. John Morgan (2017-08-18). "Junior Dos Santos notified of potential doping violation, pulled from UFC 215". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-08-21.
  14. Staff (2017-08-20). "Junior Dos Santos rep: Team wants 2 supplements tested for source of Hydrochlorothiazide". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-08-21.
  15. Dave Doyle (2017-08-28). "Francis Ngannou is officially off UFC 215". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  16. Staff (2017-08-28). "UFC 215 lineup set with 2 title fights in Edmonton, including Demetrious Johnson's quest for record". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  17. "UFC 215: Nunes vs. Shevchenko 2". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2017-05-25.
  18. Stephie Haynes (2017-09-10). "UFC 215 bonuses: Cejudo, Stephens among $50M winners". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2017-09-10.
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