UFC 173: Barao vs Dillashaw - Fight Card Updates
Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 4:17 pm
With the original UFC 173 main event between Chris Weidman and Lyoto Machida moved to July's UFC 175 card due to an injury suffered by the middleweight champion, bantamweight titleholder Renan Barao has stepped up to headline the May 24 card at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas against top contender TJ Dillashaw.
Brazil's Barao (34-1, 1 NC) is the owner of a remarkable 35 fight unbeaten streak that includes 22 straight wins. Winner of the interim bantamweight crown in 2012, the 27-year-old was elevated to undisputed champion in January, and he didn't skip a beat, halting Dillashaw's teammate, Urijah Faber, in a single round at UFC 169 in February. Looking to separate Barao from his championship belt will be the 28-year-old Dillashaw, an ultra-talented contender currently ranked fifth in the world at 135 pounds. A TUF 14 finalist, Dillashaw has won five of his last six bouts, most recently winning a unanimous decision over Mike Easton in January. Japanese contender Takeya Mizugaki, who was originally scheduled to face Dillashaw at UFC 173, will now face hard-hitting Francisco Rivera.
The UFC 173 card on May 24 has seen plenty of changes this week, but a welcome addition is certainly the verbally agreed to welterweight matchup between crowd-pleasing knockout artists Robbie Lawler and Jake Ellenberger. Lawler is coming off his instant classic with Johny Hendricks at UFC 171 earlier this month, and Ellenberger drew the assignment after his UFC 172 opponent, Tarec Saffiedine, was forced out of the April 26 bout due to injury. And no matter how they got to this May matchup, rest assured that Las Vegas will see 170-pound fireworks in the Octagon.
UFC 173
May 24, 2014
MGM Grand Garden Arena
Las Vegas, Nevada
Renan Barao (34-1-1) vs. T.J. Dillashaw (9-2) - UFC bantamweight title bout
Robbie Lawler (22-10-1) vs. Jake Ellenberger (29-7)
Junior dos Santos (16-3) vs. Stipe Miocic (11-1)
Chris Holdsworth (5-0) vs. Kyung Ho Kang (12-7)
Doo Ho Choi (11-1) vs. Sam Sicilia (12-4)
Jamie Varner (21-9-1, 2 NC) vs. James Krause (20-5)
Takeya Mizugaki (19-7-2) vs. Francisco Rivera (10-2)
Al Iaquinta (8-2-1) vs. Mitch Clarke (10-2)
Michael Chiesa (10-1) vs. Francisco Trinaldo (14-3)
Tony Ferguson (14-3) vs. Kikuno Katsunori (22-5-2)
Yves Edwards (42-20-1, 1 NC) vs. Piotr Hallmann (14-2)
Anthony Njokuani (16-7, 1 NC) vs. Vinc Pichel (8-1)
Li Jingliang (8-2) vs. Danny Mitchell (14-5)
Brazil's Barao (34-1, 1 NC) is the owner of a remarkable 35 fight unbeaten streak that includes 22 straight wins. Winner of the interim bantamweight crown in 2012, the 27-year-old was elevated to undisputed champion in January, and he didn't skip a beat, halting Dillashaw's teammate, Urijah Faber, in a single round at UFC 169 in February. Looking to separate Barao from his championship belt will be the 28-year-old Dillashaw, an ultra-talented contender currently ranked fifth in the world at 135 pounds. A TUF 14 finalist, Dillashaw has won five of his last six bouts, most recently winning a unanimous decision over Mike Easton in January. Japanese contender Takeya Mizugaki, who was originally scheduled to face Dillashaw at UFC 173, will now face hard-hitting Francisco Rivera.
The UFC 173 card on May 24 has seen plenty of changes this week, but a welcome addition is certainly the verbally agreed to welterweight matchup between crowd-pleasing knockout artists Robbie Lawler and Jake Ellenberger. Lawler is coming off his instant classic with Johny Hendricks at UFC 171 earlier this month, and Ellenberger drew the assignment after his UFC 172 opponent, Tarec Saffiedine, was forced out of the April 26 bout due to injury. And no matter how they got to this May matchup, rest assured that Las Vegas will see 170-pound fireworks in the Octagon.
UFC 173
May 24, 2014
MGM Grand Garden Arena
Las Vegas, Nevada
Renan Barao (34-1-1) vs. T.J. Dillashaw (9-2) - UFC bantamweight title bout
Robbie Lawler (22-10-1) vs. Jake Ellenberger (29-7)
Junior dos Santos (16-3) vs. Stipe Miocic (11-1)
Chris Holdsworth (5-0) vs. Kyung Ho Kang (12-7)
Doo Ho Choi (11-1) vs. Sam Sicilia (12-4)
Jamie Varner (21-9-1, 2 NC) vs. James Krause (20-5)
Takeya Mizugaki (19-7-2) vs. Francisco Rivera (10-2)
Al Iaquinta (8-2-1) vs. Mitch Clarke (10-2)
Michael Chiesa (10-1) vs. Francisco Trinaldo (14-3)
Tony Ferguson (14-3) vs. Kikuno Katsunori (22-5-2)
Yves Edwards (42-20-1, 1 NC) vs. Piotr Hallmann (14-2)
Anthony Njokuani (16-7, 1 NC) vs. Vinc Pichel (8-1)
Li Jingliang (8-2) vs. Danny Mitchell (14-5)
