UFC Fight Night 171 - Smith vs. Teixeira --- UFC on ESPN 9 - Woodley vs. Burns
UFC on ESPN 8: Overeem vs. Harris (also known as UFC Fight Night 172) is a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on May 16, 2020 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, United States.
Fight card
Main card (ESPN)
Heavyweight Alistair Overeem vs. Walt Harris
Women’s Strawweight Claudia Gadelha vs. Angela Hill
Featherweight Edson Barboza vs. Dan Ige
Middleweight Eryk Anders vs. Krzysztof Jotko
Featherweight Song Yadong vs. Marlon Vera
Preliminary Card (ESPN/ESPN+)
Welterweight Matt Brown vs. Miguel Baeza
Middleweight Anthony Hernandez vs. Kevin Holland
Featherweight Giga Chikadze vs. Irwin Rivera
Women's Flyweight Cortney Casey vs. Mara Romero Borella
Featherweight Darren Elkins vs. Nate Landwehr
Heavyweight Rodrigo Nascimento vs. Don’Tale Mayes
Background
While not officially announced by the organization, the promotion was targeting a lightweight bout between former interim UFC Lightweight Champion Dustin Poirier and Dan Hooker to serve as the event headliner. However, it was reported on April 8 that the main event was expected to be a heavyweight bout between the 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix Champion, former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion and UFC Heavyweight Championship challenger Alistair Overeem and Walt Harris. The pairing was previously scheduled to headline UFC on ESPN: Overeem vs. Rozenstruik on December 7, 2019 but Harris pulled out of the fight in early November, citing the disappearance and death of his stepdaughter in her home state of Alabama. They were later booked to headline UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris on April 11 but the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Punahele Soriano was expected to face Anthony Hernandez at the event. However, Soriano pulled out due to undisclosed reasons. Hernandez will instead face Kevin Holland.
Due to travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, some Brazilian fighters were unable to compete due to visa issues at the original event – Lara Procopio (who was expected to face Cortney Casey in a women's flyweight bout), former KSW Women's Flyweight Champion Ariane Lipski and Luana Carolina (who were expected to meet at the same weight).
COVID-19 pandemic
The event was originally expected to take place at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California. On April 2, the California Department of Consumer Affairs, the division of the state government that includes the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC), extended a ban on combat sports events through the end of May due to the coronavirus pandemic, making the venue unable to host the fight card. The event was officially removed from California on April 20. On April 24, the UFC confirmed the new UFC 249 for May 9 in Jacksonville, Florida, along with two other events on May 13 and 16 for the same location.
The UFC confirmed on May 1 that Overeem and Harris would headline this event, now expected to be broadcast on ESPN. Additionally, the event will include fighters that were pulled from other events previously cancelled, as well as the following bouts:
A middleweight bout between Eryk Anders and Krzysztof Jotko (also scheduled for UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris).
A heavyweight bout between Rodrigo Nascimento and Don’Tale Mayes (scheduled for UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira).
Some fights that were originally expected to take place at this event on its first booking, but will be rescheduled for future cards include a flyweight bout between Alex Perez and Kai Kara-France, as well as a featherweight bout between Jared Gordon and Matt Sayles.
Mike Davis was scheduled to face Giga Chikadze at the event. However, Davis was removed from the card on May 14 and replaced by promotional newcomer Irwin Rivera.
May 15 - Updated fight card & background
