UFC Fight Night 167: Anderson vs. Blłachowicz 2 | Event Profile, Full Results & Legacy

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. Rio Rancho — Two DQs, a Counter KO & Historic Altitude

3. Quick Stats

4. Main Event: Blachowicz’s Revenge KO & Jones Taunt

5. The Two DQs, Miller’s Historic 7th FotN & The Card

6. Full Results

7. Bonuses & Awards

8. Records & Milestones

9. Legacy & Impact

10. FAQ

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Introduction

UFC Fight Night 167: Anderson vs. Blłachowicz 2 took place on Saturday, February 15, 2020 at Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico — broadcast live on ESPN+ as ESPN+ 25. The card drew 6,449 fans for a gate of $596,820. It was the first UFC event in Rio Rancho, at an altitude of 5,282 feet above sea level — two feet higher than Denver. The main event was a rematch light heavyweight bout between Corey Anderson and Jan Błachowicz.

Błachowicz knocked out Anderson with a right hand counter at 3:08 of round one, earning Performance of the Night. He immediately walked over to Jon Jones, who was seated at cageside, and taunted the champion. The event produced two disqualifications — the first time two DQs had occurred at a single UFC event in the promotion’s history: Michel Pereira DQ’d for an illegal knee to Diego Sanchez, and Kazula Vargas DQ’d for an illegal knee to Brok Weaver. Jim Miller earned his seventh career Fight of the Night bonus — the most in UFC history — alongside Scott Holtzman.

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Rio Rancho — Two DQs, a Counter KO & Historic Altitude

Santa Ana Star Center holds approximately 8,500. The 6,449 attendance was modest relative to the card’s main event competitive billing. The arena’s altitude — 5,282 feet above sea level, two feet higher than Denver’s 5,280 feet — was noted by media as the highest altitude UFC event on record at the time. Rio Rancho is a suburb of Albuquerque, New Mexico, which had previously hosted UFC events. Jon Jones was seated at cageside as an observer, adding a championship narrative dimension to the LHW main event.

Anderson had previously defeated Blłachowicz by unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 138 in October 2018. Their rematch was commercially framed as a title-eliminator — the UFC’s LHW top-five rankings had both fighters competing for the final contender position ahead of a potential Jones championship challenge. Anderson was ranked #5, Blłachowicz #6 entering Rio Rancho.

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Quick Stats

📅 Date: Saturday, February 15, 2020 (FIRST UFC IN RIO RANCHO; ESPN+ 25; 5,282ft altitude — TWO FEET HIGHER THAN DENVER; FIRST EVER UFC EVENT WITH TWO DQs!)

📍 Venue: Santa Ana Star Center, Rio Rancho, New Mexico

👥 Attendance: 6,449

💰 Gate: $596,820

📺 Broadcast: ESPN+ 25 (ESPN+ streaming)

🏆 Main Event: Corey Anderson vs. Jan Błachowicz (REMATCH) — LHW (Anderson #5, Blłachowicz #6; title eliminator; Anderson won R1 by UD in Oct 2018; Jon Jones at CAGESIDE!)

✅ Result: Blłachowicz def. Anderson via KO (punch) — R1, 3:08 (PoN $50k; counter right hand off Anderson’s leg kick; BLACHOWICZ TAUNTED JON JONES AT CAGESIDE after win!)

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Main Event: Blachowicz’s Revenge KO & Jones Taunt

As Anderson threw a leg kick midway through round one, Blłachowicz countered with a right hand that put Anderson on the canvas. Blłachowicz immediately followed with a hammer fist to the downed Anderson, and the referee intervened at 3:08. The KO was technically precise — a counter punch timed off Anderson’s attacking motion, producing the kind of momentum-reversal finish that Blłachowicz’s ‘Polish Power’ right hand had become associated with.

Before the official result was announced, Blłachowicz walked directly to Jon Jones at cageside and taunted the champion. The public challenge, delivered live on ESPN+ with Jones visibly present, was one of the most commercially striking individual post-fight moments of the early 2020 season. Media described the taunt as the clearest possible individual declaration of title fight intention.

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The Two DQs, Miller’s Historic 7th FotN & The Card

The Rio Rancho card produced two disqualifications for illegal knees to downed opponents in the same event — the first time two DQs had occurred at a single UFC event in the promotion’s history. Michel Pereira’s DQ loss to Diego Sanchez came in the co-main event: Pereira appeared to knock Sanchez out in round three before delivering an illegal knee to the downed veteran, producing the DQ that gave Sanchez the victory. In the preliminary card, Kazula Vargas was DQ’d for an illegal knee to Brok Weaver in round one.

Jim Miller’s Fight of the Night against Scott Holtzman was the Rio Rancho card’s most historically significant individual statistical result: his seventh career UFC FotN bonus — the most in the promotion’s history at the time. Miller also tied Donald Cerrone for the most UFC appearances at 33 fights. His unanimous decision loss to Holtzman (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) — Holtzman landing 30 more significant strikes — was a competitive result from one of the LW division’s most durable and experienced veterans. Daniel Rodriguez’s submission of Tim Means earned Performance of the Night alongside Blłachowicz.

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Full Results

Main Card (ESPN+)

Jan Blłachowicz def. Corey Anderson — KO (punch) — R1, 3:08 — LHW (PoN $50k; REVENGE KO from 2018 UD loss; counter right hand off Anderson’s leg kick; TAUNTED JON JONES at cageside! Blłachowicz = new #1 LHW contender!)

Diego Sanchez def. Michel Pereira — DQ (illegal knee to downed opponent) — R3, 3:09 — WW (PEREIRA DQ! Appeared to KO Sanchez then landed illegal knee; Sanchez wins by DQ; MOST CHAOTIC CO-MAIN EVENT of 2020!)

Montana De La Rosa def. Mara Romero Borella — Unanimous Decision (30-27x3) — Women’s FLW

Brok Weaver def. Kazula Vargas — DQ (illegal knee to downed opponent) — R1, 4:02 — LW (Vargas DQ! SECOND DQ OF THE NIGHT; FIRST TIME TWO DQs AT ONE UFC EVENT!)

Ray Borg def. Rogerio Bontorin — Unanimous Decision — FLW

Lando Vannata def. Yancy Medeiros — Unanimous Decision (30-27x3) — LW

Preliminary Card (ESPN / ESPN+)

Daniel Rodriguez def. Tim Means — Submission (guillotine choke) — R2, 3:37 — WW (PoN $50k; Rodriguez early career; future WW top contender!)

John Dodson def. Nathaniel Wood — TKO (punches) — R3, 0:16 — BW (Dodson snapped 2-fight losing streak; Wood = highly touted British BW prospect debut loss)

Scott Holtzman def. Jim Miller — Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28x2) — LW (FotN $50k each; MILLER’S 7TH CAREER FotN — MOST IN UFC HISTORY! Miller also tied Cerrone for MOST UFC BOUTS at 33; high-altitude brawl at 5,282ft!)

Devin Clark def. Dequan Townsend — Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-26x2) — LHW

Merab Dvalishvili def. Casey Kenney — Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-25, 29-28) — BW (Dvalishvili building toward BW title contendership!)

Macy Chiasson def. Shanna Young — Unanimous Decision (30-26x3) — Women’s BW

Raulian Paiva def. Mark De La Rosa — TKO (punches) — R2, 4:42 — FLW

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Bonuses & Awards

🥇 Fight of the Night: Scott Holtzman + Jim Miller — $50,000 each (MILLER’S 7TH CAREER FotN — MOST IN UFC HISTORY! Tied Cerrone for most UFC bouts at 33)

🥇 Performance of the Night: Jan Blłachowicz + Daniel Rodriguez — $50,000 each

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Records & Milestones

• First time two DQs occurred at a single UFC event in the promotion’s history.

• Jim Miller’s 7th career Fight of the Night — most in UFC history.

• Jim Miller tied Donald Cerrone for most UFC appearances at 33 fights.

• Santa Ana Star Center altitude: 5,282 feet — two feet higher than Denver; highest UFC event venue on record at the time.

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Legacy & Impact

Blłachowicz’s Rio Rancho KO of Anderson produced the UFC LHW Championship fight against Jon Jones at UFC 253 in September 2020, where Jones vacated the belt and Blłachowicz defeated Dominick Reyes for the vacant title. His subsequent championship defence against Israel Adesanya at UFC 259 — where he submitted the middleweight champion in round two — was the result that his Rio Rancho Jones-taunt had implied. Daniel Rodriguez’s Rio Rancho guillotine PoN opened a WW career that produced eight consecutive wins and a top-five WW ranking.

Merab Dvalishvili’s Rio Rancho decision win over Kenney was an early step in the BW career that produced nine consecutive wins and the UFC BW Championship at UFC 306 in September 2024. Jim Miller’s Rio Rancho FotN war with Holtzman was a 2020 milestone in the LW career that continued through additional appearances into the mid-2020s.

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FAQ

What was Pereira’s DQ against Sanchez?

Pereira appeared to knock Sanchez unconscious in round three with a combination. After Sanchez went down, Pereira delivered a knee to Sanchez’s head while Sanchez was a downed opponent — an illegal strike under unified MMA rules. Referee Jason Herzog stopped the fight and disqualified Pereira, giving Sanchez the victory by DQ. The result was one of the most unusual co-main event finishes in UFC history: a fighter who appeared to have achieved a knockout losing by DQ for the subsequent illegal strike.

What was Vargas’s DQ against Weaver?

Vargas delivered a knee strike to Weaver while Weaver was a downed opponent in round one at 4:02. The strike was an illegal knee under unified MMA rules. The referee stopped the fight and disqualified Vargas, giving Weaver the victory by DQ. The Vargas DQ coming in the same event as the Pereira DQ produced the unprecedented result: two individual disqualifications in the same UFC card.

What was Miller’s 7th FotN significance?

Miller was a 36-year-old Vineland, New Jersey LW who had gone 30-13 professionally before Rio Rancho. His seven Fight of the Night bonuses across a UFC career that began in 2008 reflected his consistent competitive willingness to produce high-action fights regardless of win-loss outcome. His Rio Rancho FotN against Holtzman — which he lost — was his career’s most individually statistically notable bonus, tying the most-bouts record with Cerrone simultaneously.

What was Blachowicz’s Jones taunt?

Jones was seated at cageside for the Rio Rancho card as an observer. After the KO, Blłachowicz walked directly to Jones’s position and taunted the champion. The taunt was captured live on the ESPN+ broadcast and amplified through UFC social media. Jones’s response at cageside — his visible presence as the world’s best LHW watching a contender publicly challenge him — added a championship narrative dimension to Blłachowicz’s Rio Rancho finish.

What was the altitude significance?

Rio Rancho’s 5,282-foot altitude was the highest individual UFC event venue on record at the time. High altitude reduces oxygen availability, which can affect athletic endurance in multiple-round fights. Media noted that local New Mexico fighters on the card had an altitude-adaptation advantage. The altitude added an unusual physiological variable to a card that already had two DQs and a Jones-taunt narrative.

Who was Daniel Rodriguez?

Rodriguez was a 27-year-old Pico Rivera, California WW who had gone 8-0 professionally before Rio Rancho, with one UFC fight before this card. His guillotine choke of Tim Means at 3:37 of round two earned his Performance of the Night. Means was a 34-year-old Albuquerque WW with substantial UFC experience. Rodriguez’s Rio Rancho PoN launched a WW career that produced wins over Tim Means (this fight), Belal Muhammad, Bryan Barberena, Kevin Holland, and Nate Diaz, reaching top-five WW ranking.

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References

UFC Fight Night 167: Anderson vs. Blłachowicz 2 — Wikipedia

UFC Fight Night 167 — Tapology