UFC on ESPN 18 - Smith vs. Clark --- UFC 256 - Figueiredo vs. Moreno
UFC on ESPN 19: Hermansson vs. Vettori (also known as UFC Vegas 16) is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on December 5, 2020, at the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.
Fight card
Main card (ESPN2 / ESPN+)
Middleweight Jack Hermansson vs. Marvin Vettori
Light Heavyweight Ovince Saint Preux vs. Jamahal Hill
Women's Flyweight Montana De La Rosa vs. Taila Santos
Light Heavyweight Roman Dolidze vs. John Allan Arte
Featherweight Movsar Evloev vs. Nate Landwehr
Preliminary Card (ESPN+)
Heavyweight Gian Villante vs. Jake Collier
Lightweight Matt Wiman vs. Jordan Leavitt
Flyweight Jimmy Flick vs. Cody Durden
Featherweight Ilia Topuria vs. Damon Jackson
Lightweight Gabriel Benítez vs. Justin Jaynes
Bantamweight Louis Smolka vs. José Alberto Quiñónez
Background
The promotion was targeting a middleweight bout between former UFC Welterweight Championship challenger Darren Till and Jack Hermansson to serve as the event headliner. However on November 6, it was revealed that Till was forced to withdraw from the planned bout due to an undisclosed injury. He was replaced by Kevin Holland. In turn, Holland was removed from the contest on November 28 after testing positive for COVID-19. Marvin Vettori, who was expected to face former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Ronaldo Souza a week later at UFC 256, will now serve as his replacement. The UFC also opted to reschedule Holland as Vettori's replacement at UFC 256.
John Allan Arte and Roman Dolidze were originally scheduled to meet at UFC 255 in a light heavyweight bout. They were eventually rescheduled for this event.
A bantamweight bout between Cody Stamann and Merab Dvalishvili was expected to take place at this event. However on October 22, it was announced that Stamann pulled out due to undisclosed reasons. He was replaced by Raoni Barcelos. The new booking fell through on November 19, as it was revealed that Barcelos was removed from the contest due to a medical suspension related to his latest bout on November 7.
A featherweight bout between Gabriel Benítez and Justin Jaynes was initially scheduled for UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. dos Anjos a month earlier, but the pairing was postponed after Benítez tested positive for COVID-19. The matchup was left intact and is expected to take place at this event.
Also scheduled for UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. dos Anjos, a bantamweight bout between Louis Smolka and José Alberto Quiñónez was canceled after Smolka pulled out of their fight as a result of ill-effects from his weigh-cut on the day of the event. They were then rescheduled for this event.
Maryna Moroz was expected to face Taila Santos in a women's strawweight bout at the event. However on November 18, it was announced that Moroz had to pull out and Montana De La Rosa will be her replacement.
A women's bantamweight bout between former UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship challenger Bethe Correia and Wu Yanan was expected to take place at this event. However, due to visa issues, they were rescheduled for UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Kattar on January 16, 2021.
