''UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Strickland'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 216, UFC on ESPN+ 74'' and ''UFC Vegas 66'') 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 December 17, 2022, at the

UFC Apex UFC Apex (stylized as UFC APEX) is a live events and production center in Enterprise, Nevada, operated and owned by TKO Group Holdings (TKO). The venue hosts events held by TKO's two divisions, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and WWE, as ...

facility in

Enterprise, Nevada Enterprise is an unincorporated town in the Las Vegas Valley in Clark County, Nevada, United States. The population was 221,831 at the 2020 U.S. census, up from 14,676 at the 2000 census. It was founded on December 17, 1996. As in other uninc ...

, part of the

Las Vegas Metropolitan Area Clark County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Nevada with 2,265,461 residents as of the 2020 census. The county is the location of the state's three largest cities, Las Vegas (the county seat), Henderson, and North Las Vegas ...

, United States.

Background

A middleweight bout between former

UFC Middleweight Championship 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 ...

challenger

Jared Cannonier Jared Christopher Cannonier (born March 16, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of February 4, 2025, he is #7 in the UFC midd ...

and

Sean Strickland Sean Thomas Strickland (born February 27, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Middleweight Champion. ...

served as the main event. The pairing was previously scheduled to headline UFC Fight Night: Grasso vs. Araújo, but it was scrapped after Strickland withdrew due to a finger infection. A middleweight bout between Bruno Silva and Albert Duraev was scheduled to take place at the event. However, Silva withdrew due to an injury and was replaced by

Michał Oleksiejczuk Michał Oleksiejczuk (born February 22, 1995) is a Polish mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. A professional since 2014, he was the former Thunderstrike Fight League Light heavyweight champion in Poland. He currently competes in the middle ...

. In turn, Duraev was forced to withdraw for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by

Cody Brundage Cody Brundage (born May 16, 1994) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Brundage was an accomplished high school wrestler at Chapin High School in Chapin ...

. Former

UFC Flyweight Championship 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 ...

challenger Alex Perez was expected to face

Amir Albazi Amir Yahya Abdulamir Al-Bazi (; born October 27, 1993), known as Amir Albazi, is an Iraqi professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of July 1, 2025, he is #4 ...

at the event. However, he pulled out due to undisclosed reasons in late October and was replaced by

Brandon Royval Brandon Matthew Royval (born August 16, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2012, Royval has also formerly compet ...

. In turn, Royval withdrew from the card in late November due to a broken wrist during training and was replaced by Alessandro Costa. A light heavyweight bout between

Tafon Nchukwi Tafon Nchukwi (born 14 October 1994) is a Cameroonian mixed martial artist who competes in the light heavyweight division and competed in the UFC. Background Born in Bamenda, Cameroon, Nchukwi's family moved to the United States in 2005. He playe ...

and Jamal Pogues was expected to take the event. However, Pogues pull out from the bout due to undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Vitor Petrino. Nchukwi eventually pulled out of the bout himself due to undisclosed reasons and the bout was scrapped. Michael Morales was expected to face Rinat Fakhretdinov in a welterweight bout. However, Morales pulled out due to a fractured toe. He was replaced by The Return of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Volkanovski vs. Team Ortega middleweight winner Bryan Battle. A middleweight bout between

Julian Marquez Julian Marquez (born May 8, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Middleweight (MMA), Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Marquez was born and raised in Kansas City, Misso ...

and

Deron Winn Deron Winn (born June 13, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist and freestyle wrestler. A professional mixed martial artist since 2017, he formerly competed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Bellator MMA, fighting in their mid ...

was expected to take place at the event. However, just two days before the event, Winn was forced to withdraw after fainting and falling down a set of stairs, sustaining a minor

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...

. As a result, the bout was scrapped. At the weigh-ins, Hayisaer Maheshate weighed in at 158.5 pounds, two and a half pounds over the lightweight non-title fight limit. His bout proceeded at catchweight and he was fined 20% of his purse, which went to his opponent Rafa García.

Results

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses. *Fight of the Night: Drew Dober vs. Bobby Green *Performance of the Night: Alex Caceres and Michał Oleksiejczuk

References

{{2022 in mixed martial arts UFC Fight Night 2022 in mixed martial arts December 2022 sports events in the United States Ultimate Fighting Championship events in Enterprise, Nevada 2022 in sports in Nevada

Background

Results

Bonus awards

See also

References