UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. LaFlare | ||||
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A poster or logo for UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. LaFlare.
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Information | ||||
Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
Date | March 21, 2015 | |||
Venue | Ginásio do Maracanãzinho | |||
City | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |||
Attendance | 7,707 | |||
Event chronology | ||||
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UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. LaFlare (also known as UFC Fight Night 62) was a mixed martial arts event held on March 21, 2015 at the Ginásio do Maracanãzinho in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
After hosting a PPV event at the venue and some others at HSBC Arena, the event was the first Fight Night that the UFC has hosted in Rio de Janeiro.
The event was expected to be headlined by a bantamweight rematch between Urijah Faber and Raphael Assunção. However, on February 2, Assunção was forced out of the bout as his ankle, injured in mid-December 2014, was slow to heal and he was unable to resume the proper training to prepare for the fight in that time frame. The UFC also removed Faber from the card and promoted a welterweight bout between Demian Maia and Ryan LaFlare to the main event.
Matt Wiman was expected to face Leonardo Santos at the event. However on February 11, Wiman pulled out of the bout citing a back injury and was replaced by Tony Martin.
Josh Thomson was expected to face Gilbert Burns at the event. However on February 26, Thomson pulled out of the fight with an undisclosed injury, while Burns remained on the card and faced Alex Oliveira.
Ben Saunders was expected to face Erick Silva at the event. However on March 6, Saunders pulled out of the bout due to an injury. He was replaced by Josh Koscheck. Koscheck had previously fought just 21 days before this event at UFC 184, losing his fight against Jake Ellenberger.