UFC 256

UFC 256: Figueiredo vs. Moreno was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 12, 2020 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.

Background

The promotion was initially targeting a UFC Welterweight Championship bout between current champion Kamaru Usman (also The Ultimate Fighter: American Top Team vs. Blackzilians welterweight winner) and Gilbert Burns to serve as the event headliner. The pairing was previously scheduled to meet in July at UFC 251. However, Burns was pulled from the contest after he and his coach, Greg Jones, tested positive for COVID-19. In turn, Usman faced, and defeated Jorge Masvidal at that event. On October 5, it was reported Usman pulled out from this bout, citing more time needed to recover from undisclosed injuries and the bout was postponed.

While not officially announced by the organization, the promotion was also targeting a UFC Women's Featherweight Championship bout between the current champion Amanda Nunes (also the current UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion) and former Invicta FC Featherweight Champion Megan Anderson to serve as the event headliner. In turn, it was announced on November 9 that Nunes pulled out due to an undisclosed injury and the bout was postponed to 2021.

A UFC Bantamweight Championship bout between current champion Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling was originally scheduled to serve as the co-main event. Due to the aforementioned cancelations, they were then expected to headline the card. On November 22, Russian media revealed that the fight was also canceled for personal reasons related to Yan and is expected to be booked at a later date. Those "personal reasons" were later revealed to be related to visa and travel issues.