''UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. dos Santos'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 166'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 24'') was a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

event produced by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

that took place on January 25, 2020 at

PNC Arena Lenovo Center (originally Raleigh Entertainment & Sports Arena and formerly RBC Center and PNC Arena) is an list of indoor arenas, indoor arena located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. The arena seats 18,700 for ice hockey and 19,500 ...

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

, United States.

Background

The event was the first that the promotion hosted in Raleigh and first in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

since UFC on Fox: Jacaré vs. Brunson 2 in January 2018. A heavyweight bout between

Curtis Blaydes Curtis Lionell Blaydes (born February 18, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2014, Blaydes formerly competed ...

and former

UFC Heavyweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

Junior dos Santos Junior dos Santos (; born 30 January 1984) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and former professional wrestler who competes in the Heavyweight division. He is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and current Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA Heavyweigh ...

served as the event headliner. A bantamweight bout was scheduled between former

UFC Lightweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight class ...

Frankie Edgar Frankie Edgar (born October 16, 1981) is an American former professional mixed martial artist, who most recently competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Beginning his career in the Lightweight division ...

and

Cory Sandhagen Cory James Sandhagen (born April 20, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight (MMA), Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional sin ...

at the event. However, Edgar was withdrawn from the fight in favour of facing

Chan Sung Jung Jung Chan-sung (; born March 17, 1987), anglicized as Chan Sung Jung and better known by his ring name The Korean Zombie, is a South Korean former professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Figh ...

in a featherweight bout at UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. The Korean Zombie after Jung's original opponent, former featherweight title challenger

Brian Ortega Brian Martin Ortega (born February 21, 1991) is an American professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Featherweight (MMA), Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professiona ...

, pulled out due to a knee injury. In turn, Sandhagen was removed from the card and expected to be rescheduled for a future event after promotion officials deemed that a suitable opponent could not be arranged. A middleweight bout between

Bevon Lewis Bevon Kareem Lewis (born May 5, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the light heavyweight (MMA), light heavyweight division. A professional since 2015, he has also competed for Professional Fighters League (PFL), Ultimate Fi ...

and Alen Amedovski was scheduled to take place at the event. However, Amedovski was forced to pull out of the event citing injury and was replaced by

Dequan Townsend Dequan Townsend (born May 11, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division. He has previously fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Townsend originally began training c ...

. A strawweight bout between Hannah Cifers and Brianna Van Buren was scheduled to take place at the event. However, Van Buren was pulled from the event due to undisclosed reasons and replaced by former Invicta FC Strawweight Champion

Angela Hill Angela Patrice Hill (born January 12, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the women's Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She was formerly signed with the Invicta Fighting Championships, where ...

. Featherweight fighters

Josh Emmett Joshua James Emmett (born March 4, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2011, Emmett has also competed for K ...

and Nad Narimani pulled out of their scheduled fights against

Arnold Allen Arnold Billy Allen (born 22 January 1994) is an English professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of 15 April 2025, he is #6 in the UFC featherweight ...

and

Nik Lentz Nik Lentz (born August 13, 1984) is an American retired mixed martial artist. He most notably fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, fighting in the lightweight division. Background Lentz was born in El Paso, Texas but grew up in Twin ...

respectively, citing injuries. As a result, Allen and Lentz faced each other at the event.

Results

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses. *Fight of the Night: Brett Johns vs. Tony Gravely *Performance of the Night: Alex Perez and Herbert Burns

References

{{2020 in mixed martial arts UFC Fight Night 2020 in mixed martial arts 2020 in sports in North Carolina Mixed martial arts in North Carolina Sports competitions in Raleigh, North Carolina January 2020 sports events in the United States

Background

Results

Bonus awards

See also

References