The main card marked the first time a mixed martial arts event was broadcast on
ABC. It also meant the UFC's first return to network television since
UFC on Fox: Lee vs. Iaquinta 2 was broadcast on
Fox in December 2018. After hosting nine events
behind closed doors at the
du Forum amid the
COVID-19 pandemic, the UFC made its debut at the newly built
Etihad Arena. A limited number of fans were allowed inside the venue, marking the first time since
UFC 248 in March 2020 that non-essential event personnel were in attendance. The venue has maximum capacity of over 18,000, but the UFC is expecting to have closer to 2,000 fans for each of the Fight Island's events during the week. A featherweight bout between former
UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway and
Calvin Kattar served as the event headliner. A bantamweight bout between
Ricky Simon and
Brian Kelleher was initially scheduled to take place at
UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Sakai, but Simon's cornerman
tested positive for COVID-19 and he was forced to withdraw from the event. The pairing was then rescheduled for this event. In turn, Kelleher also tested positive on January 1 and was pulled from the bout. He was replaced by newcomer Gaetano Pirrello and the bout took place four days later at
UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny. A women's bantamweight bout between former
UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship challenger
Bethe Correia and
Wu Yanan was expected to take place at
UFC on ESPN: Hermansson vs. Vettori. However, due to
visa issues, they were rescheduled for this event. In turn, Correia had to pull out on January 5 due to
appendicitis, which required an
appendectomy. She was replaced by promotional newcomer
Joselyne Edwards.
Muslim Salikhov was scheduled to face
Santiago Ponzinibbio in a welterweight bout at the event. However, Salikhov pulled out of the bout in mid-December citing health issues after contracting
COVID-19. He was replaced by
Li Jingliang. A flyweight bout between former
UFC Flyweight Championship challenger
Tim Elliott (also
The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions flyweight winner) and
Jordan Espinosa was expected to take place at this event. However, Espinosa tested positive for COVID-19 in late December and the pairing was moved to
UFC 259. A women's bantamweight bout between
The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate bantamweight winner
Julianna Peña and former title challenger
Sara McMann (also
2004 Olympic silver medalist in wrestling) was originally scheduled for this event before being pushed back a week later to
UFC 257.
The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 middleweight winner
Warlley Alves and
Christian Aguilera were expected to meet in a welterweight bout. However, Aguilera pulled out in late December due to an injury. He was replaced by Mounir Lazzez and the pairing took place at UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny. A middleweight bout between five-time
Brazilian jiu-jitsu World Champion Rodolfo Vieira and
Anthony Hernandez was expected to take place at this event. However, Hernandez pulled out due to a positive COVID-19 test and they were rescheduled for
UFC 258. A welterweight bout between former
WEC Welterweight Champion and former interim
UFC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit and
Matt Brown was originally booked for a planned January 30 event. After the UFC opted against holding a card on that date, they were then briefly rescheduled for UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny. At last, they were booked for this event. The pairing has been previously cancelled as they were initially scheduled to meet at
UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Benavidez 2 in December 2013, but Brown pulled out due to an undisclosed injury. They were booked once again in April 2018 for
UFC on Fox: Poirier vs. Gaethje, but Brown had to pull out a second time as he injured his
anterior cruciate ligament.
Sarah Moras was initially scheduled to face
Vanessa Melo in a bantamweight bout at
UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Teixeira in November 2020, but it was eventually postponed to take place at this event due to Moras contracting
COVID-19. A featherweight bout between
Nik Lentz and
Mike Grundy was scheduled for this event. However, a member of Grundy's team tested positive for COVID-19, hence Lentz was given a new opponent off
Movsar Evloev who he will face at UFC 257 in a catchweight bout of 150 pounds. During fight week, the UFC opted to move a middleweight bout between
Omari Akhmedov and
Tom Breese to UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny due to "COVID-19 related issues". A few hours before the event, a middleweight bout between Phil Hawes and Nassourdine Imavov was scrapped due to undisclosed reasons. After defending his
UFC Lightweight Championship at
UFC 254 in October,
Khabib Nurmagomedov immediately announced his retirement, citing his father's death from complications related to COVID-19 in last July as the main reason behind it. Despite his announcement, the title was never officially vacated as UFC President
Dana White said several times that he believed Nurmagomedov would still fight again. A meeting between both of them to discuss the champion's future was then expected to happen this week during the organization's stint at
Fight Island, eventually taking place on January 15. The following day, White made an appearance live on ABC during the main card of this event and revealed the outcome of the meeting: the Russian left the door open to a potential return, depending on how the main and co-main event lightweights perform at
UFC 257, while also praising
Charles Oliveira's performance at
UFC 256. ==Results==