UFC on ESPN: Strickland vs. Magomedov


UFC on ESPN: Strickland vs. Magomedov was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 1, 2023, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.

Background

A middleweight bout between Sean Strickland and Abusupiyan Magomedov headlined the event.
A middleweight bout between Abdul Razak Alhassan and Brunno Ferreira was originally expected to take place at UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Hill but was moved to this event for unknown reasons. In turn, Alhassan pulled out in late June and was replaced by promotional newcomer Nursulton Ruziboev.
Vinc Pichel and Benoît Saint Denis were scheduled to meet in a lightweight bout. However, Pichel pulled out in late-May due to injury and was replaced by Ismael Bonfim.
A flyweight bout between Clayton Carpenter and Stephen Erceg was expected to take place at this event, but it was scrapped after Carpenter pulled out due to an undisclosed injury. They were previously scheduled to meet at the sixth season of Dana White's Contender Series in 2022 and UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Hill in May 2023, but Erceg pulled out both times due to visa issues. Erceg was rescheduled against David Dvořák at UFC 289.
The Ultimate Fighter: Heavy Hitters women's featherweight winner Macy Chiasson was expected to face former Invicta FC Bantamweight Champion and UFC Women's Featherweight Championship challenger Yana Santos in a bantamweight bout at the preliminary card. However, Chiasson pulled out two weeks after the fight announcement and was replaced by Karol Rosa in a featherweight bout.
A featherweight bout between Joanderson Brito and Khusein Askhabov was expected to take place at the event. However, Askhabov withdrew for unknown reasons and was replaced by Westin Wilson.

Results

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.
  • Fight of the Night: Elves Brenner vs. Guram Kutateladze
  • Performance of the Night: Sean Strickland and '''Nursulton Ruziboev'''