UFC Fight Night: Pavlovich vs. Blaydes

UFC Fight Night: Pavlovich vs. Blaydes (also known as UFC Fight Night 222, UFC on ESPN+ 80 and UFC Vegas 71) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 22, 2023, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.

Background
A heavyweight bout between Sergei Pavlovich and Curtis Blaydes headlined the event.

A bantamweight bout between Danaa Batgerel and Brady Hiestand was scheduled for UFC on ESPN: Holloway vs. Allen a week earlier. However, the pair was moved to this event for undisclosed reasons.

A women's strawweight bout between Iasmin Lucindo and Melissa Martinez was expected to take place at the event. However, Martinez withdrew from the bout due to an undisclosed reason and was replaced by Brogan Walker-Sanchez. Rafael Estevam and Carlos Candelario were expected to meet in a flyweight bout at the event. However, Candelario pulled out in mid-April due to injury and Estevam was moved as a replacement against Zhalgas Zhumagulov at UFC 288 on May 6.

A bantamweight bout between Song Yadong and former LFA Bantamweight Champion Ricky Simón was expected to take place at this event. However, the bout was instead delayed a week to headline UFC Fight Night 223 when that event’s original headliner was cancelled.

At the weigh-ins, Priscila Cachoeira and William Gomis missed weight. Cachoeira weighed in at 130 pounds, four pounds over the women's flyweight non-title fight limit. Gomis weighed in at 147 pounds, one pound over the featherweight non-title fight limit. The Gomis-Marshall bout proceeded as a catchweight with Gomis being fined a percentage of his purse, which went to Francis Marshall. Cachoeira's bout against Karine Silva was in turn scrapped.

Bonus awards
The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses.
 * Fight of the Night: Not awarded.
 * Performance of the Night: Sergei Pavlovich, Bruno Silva, Christos Giagos, and Montel Jackson