UFC Fight Night 166: Blaydes vs. dos Santos | Event Profile, Full Results & Legacy
- Roe Jogan
- May 21
- 7 min read
Table of Contents
Introduction
First UFC in Raleigh — North Carolina Debut
Herbert Burns’ debut was the card’s most commercially interesting individual undercard result given his family connection: Gilbert Burns, his older brother, had been one of the UFC’s most prominent active welterweights entering 2020. Herbert’s featherweight debut against former M-1 Global champion Landwehr produced a first-round knee KO that gave the Burns family a second UFC debut-win narrative within the same promotional era.
Quick Stats
📅 Date: Saturday, January 25, 2020 (FIRST UFC IN RALEIGH; FIRST UFC IN NORTH CAROLINA since Fox card 2013; ESPN+ 24)
📍 Venue: PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina
👥 Attendance: 14,533
💰 Gate: $1,303,320
📺 Broadcast: ESPN+ 24 (ESPN+ streaming)
Main Event: Blaydes’ Striking TKO of dos Santos
Chiesa’s Win, Burns’ Debut KO, Perez’s PoN & The Card
Michael Chiesa’s unanimous decision over Rafael dos Anjos was the Raleigh card’s most divisionally significant co-main result: Chiesa’s third consecutive WW win moved him firmly into the division’s top-fifteen and produced the contender narrative that carried him to a title fight against Kamaru Usman at UFC 265 in August 2021. RDA’s WW phase had produced a welterweight career that was competitive but never produced the championship results his LW career had generated.
Full Results
Main Card (ESPN+)
Michael Chiesa def. Rafael dos Anjos — Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28x2) — WW (Chiesa 3RD CONSECUTIVE WW WIN; RDA WW phase; Chiesa building toward title shot)
Alex Perez def. Jordan Espinosa — Submission (arm-triangle choke) — R1, 2:33 — FLW (PoN $50k; Perez building FLW contender career; future UFC FLW title challenger!)
Angela Hill def. Hannah Cifers — TKO (strikes) — R2, 4:26 — Women’s SBW (Hill stepped up on short notice again!)
Preliminary Card (ESPN / ESPN+)
Bevon Lewis def. Dequan Townsend — Unanimous Decision (30-27x3) — LHW
Arnold Allen def. Nik Lentz — Unanimous Decision (29-28x2, 30-27) — FW (Allen FW career build; future top-5 FW contender!)
Justine Kish def. Lucie Pudilova — Unanimous Decision (30-27x3) — Women’s FLW
Montel Jackson def. Felipe Colares — Unanimous Decision (30-26x2, 30-25) — BW
Sara McMann def. Lina Lansberg — Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-26x2) — Women’s BW
Brett Johns def. Tony Gravely — Submission (RNC) — R3, 2:53 — BW (FotN $50k each; Gravely won R2; Johns got back control + RNC in R3; BOTH made UFC debut via Contender Series!)
Herbert Burns def. Nate Landwehr — KO (knee) — R1, 2:43 — FW (PoN $50k; HERBERT BURNS UFC DEBUT KO! Brother of Gilbert Burns; vicious flying knee to face!)
Bonuses & Awards
🥇 Fight of the Night: Brett Johns + Tony Gravely — $50,000 each (back-and-forth RNC submission war; both Contender Series debutes)
🥇 Performance of the Night: Alex Perez + Herbert Burns — $50,000 each
Records & Milestones
• First UFC event in Raleigh and first in North Carolina since 2013.
Legacy & Impact
Herbert Burns’ debut knee KO opened a FW career that produced wins over Nate Landwehr and Edson Barboza’s teammate opponent before eventual setbacks. Alex Perez’s arm-triangle PoN continued the FLW career that produced a title fight against Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 255 in November 2020, where Figueiredo stopped him in round one.
FAQ
What was JDS’s card context?
JDS was 35 years old at Raleigh, with his most recent result being a 71-second KO loss to Francis Ngannou at UFC Fight Night 146 in Wichita in March 2019. Before the Ngannou loss, JDS had gone 3-0 with wins over Derrick Lewis, Tai Tuivasa, and Blagoy Ivanov. His Raleigh appearance against Blaydes was framed as a former champion-quality opponent providing legitimate title-contender-testing context for Blaydes.
What was Herbert Burns’ debut context?
Burns was a 30-year-old Barra Mansa, Brazil featherweight who had earned a UFC contract through Dana White’s Contender Series Season 3 in September 2019. His older brother Gilbert Burns was a UFC welterweight ranked in the top-five entering 2020. Herbert’s debut against Landwehr — a former M-1 Global featherweight champion from North Carolina — was his first UFC appearance. His knee KO at 2:43 of round one earned Performance of the Night for his debut and gave the Raleigh hometown crowd an additional local Landwehr-rooting interest.
What was Chiesa vs. RDA significance?
Chiesa had fought his entire UFC career at lightweight before moving to WW in 2019. His three consecutive WW wins against Diego Sanchez, Carlos Condit, and now RDA established him as one of the WW division’s most technically complete active competitors. RDA’s WW phase had begun after his lightweight career produced a championship challenge against Rafael dos Anjos. His Raleigh loss to Chiesa at 29-28 and 30-27 margins ended his WW experiment ambitions.
What was Perez’s arm-triangle?
Perez was a 26-year-old Albuquerque, New Mexico FLW who had gone 10-4 professionally before Raleigh. His arm-triangle of Espinosa at 2:33 of round one was his most technically complete individual UFC finish to that point. Jordan Espinosa was a 26-year-old Dallas FLW with UFC experience. Perez’s arm-triangle finish at round-one pace against a competitive UFC FLW produced the Performance of the Night that preceded his FLW title fight against Figueiredo.
Who was Jamahal Hill?
What was Johns vs. Gravely?
Johns was a 28-year-old Bridgend, Wales BW who had gone 14-2 professionally before Raleigh, with his UFC record at 3-2 after two consecutive losses. Gravely was a 25-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina BW making his UFC debut via Contender Series. Their three-round FotN battle — Johns winning round one, Gravely winning round two, Johns taking Gravely’s back and securing the RNC in round three at 2:53 — produced one of the year’s most technically complete individual BW preliminary results.
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