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UFC Fight Night 101: Lewis vs. Abdurakhimov is an upcoming mixed martial arts event that will be held event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 9, 2016 at Times Union Center in Albany, New York.
Official fight card
Main Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Heavyweight Derrick Lewis vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov
Heavyweight Francis Ngannou vs. Anthony Hamilton
Light Heavyweight Corey Anderson vs. Sean O'Connell
Light Heavyweight Gian Villante vs. Saparbek Safarov
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Women's Strawweight Justine Kish vs. Ashley Yoder
Welterweight Randy Brown vs. Brian Camozzi
Middleweight Joe Gigliotti vs. Gerald Meerschaert
Middleweight Andrew Sanchez vs. Trevor Smith
Featherweight Tiago Trator vs. Shane Burgos
Lightweight Frankie Perez vs. Marc Diakiese
Middleweight Keith Berish vs. Ryan Janes
Women's Strawweight Juliana Lima vs. JJ Aldrich
Background
This event will be the first that the organization hosted in Albany.
A heavyweight bout between Derrick Lewis and Shamil Abdurakhimov is expected to serve as the event headliner.
A middleweight bout between Josh Samman and Oluwale Bamgbose was briefly linked to the event. However the pairing never materialized as Samman died on October 5, 2016. Joe Gigliotti was tabbed as his replacement. In turn, Bomgbose pulled out of the fight in mid-November citing an injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer Gerald Meerschaert.
Promotional newcomer Charlie Ward was expected to face Randy Brown at the event. However, Ward was pulled from the event due in early November due to alleged visa issues which restricted his travel and was replaced by fellow newcomer Brian Camozzi.
Zubaira Tukhugov was scheduled to face Tiago Trator at the event. However on November 14, Tukhugov was pulled from the card after being notified by USADA of a potential anti-doping violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collected earlier. On November 28, Tukhugov was replaced by promotional newcomer Shane Burgos.
Aljamain Sterling was expected to face Raphael Assunção at the event. However, Sterling pulled out of the fight on November 23 citing injury. Assunção was subsequently removed from the card.
The Ultimate Fighter: Team Joanna vs. Team Cláudia women's strawweight winner Tatiana Suarez was expected to face Juliana Lima at the event. However, Suarez pulled out of the fight on November 23 citing injury. She was replaced on December 2 by promotional newcomer JJ Aldrich.
Patrick Cummins was expected to face Gian Villante at the event. However, Cummins pulled out of the fight on December 2 citing a staph infection. He was replaced by promotional newcomer Saparbek Safarov.
Dec 5 - Updated fight card & background
Dec 6 - Updated fight card