UFC Vegas 61 takes place at UFC APEX in Las Vegas. The fight card airs live on ESPN+.
Strawweights collide in Las Vegas!
Las Vegas, NV (Oct0ber 1, 2022)– The UFC is holding its next fight show without fans or media members in attendance, and the UFC is not giving a reason why.
The UFC will stage a 13-bout Fight Night card at the Apex Gym on its corporate campus in Las Vegas on Saturday night, but no fans or reporters will be there. The UFC has held regular televised cards at the small gym since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, but has typically allowed in groups of fans and media representatives.
Strawweight Mackenzie Dern, who is fighting Yan Xioanan in the main event, said at a media availability Wednesday that Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook cofounder and Meta chief executive officer, has “rented out the whole event.” Zuckerberg is a UFC fans and trains MMA.
“I know he’ll be there,” Dern said. “But I don’t know if it’s just, like, literally him and his wife, if he’s going to have friends, or if it’s just like a small party. I don’t know. I’m excited, and that just makes me more driven to put on a good show. I know everyone’s watching on TV, but for Mark and whoever’s gonna be there, I’ll put on a show. That’s what they want to see, is a show. Then we’re going to give a show.”
UFC President Dana White has refused to announce a reason for the closure when asked in recent days, but he went on Twitter on Wednesday to deny that Zuckerberg has booked the entire Apex gym for himself.
A UFC spokesperson declined to comment when asked by The Associated Press, instead referring to an email sent to regular MMA reporters announcing the closure without a reason. Reporters are allowed to cover the official weigh-in on Friday, but not the fights.
ESPN+ is still broadcasting the Fight Night show as usual.
Check out UFC Vegas 61 weigh-in results below.
Main Card (ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET)
Mackenzie Dern (115.5) vs. Yan Xiaonan (115.5)
Randy Brown (170.5) vs. Francisco Trinaldo (170)
Raoni Barcelos (135.5) vs. Trevin Jones (135)
Sodiq Yusuff (145.5) vs. Don Shainis (146)
John Castaneda (139.5) vs. Daniel Santos (138.5) — 140-pound catchweight bout
Mike Davis (155) vs. Viacheslav Borshchev (155.5)
Preliminary Card (ESPN+ at 4 p.m. ET)
Ilir Latifi (253) vs. Aleksei Oleinik (254)
Joaquim Silva (155) vs. Jesse Ronson (155.5)
Krzysztof Jotko (185.5) vs. Brendan Allen (186)
Maxim Grishin (205.5) vs. Philipe Lins (205.5)
Julija Stoliarenko (139.5) vs. Chelsea Chandler (140) — 140-pound catchweight bout
Guido Cannetti (135.5) vs. Randy Costa (135)
A strawweight bout between Jessica Penne and Tabatha Ricci has been cancelled due to Penne being forced to withdraw due to a non-weight cut-related illness.
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