UFC 173: Barao vs Dillashaw - Fight Card Updates

[keithlewis]

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)

[ST3ALTHSE7EN]

Hoping Lawler gets the W. Jake is going to be a tough test!

[keithlewis]

Here is the final UFC 173 card:


MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET):

Renan Barao (c) vs. T.J. Dillashaw – UFC bantamweight title bout
Junior dos Santos vs. Stipe Miocic
Jake Ellenberger vs. Robbie Lawler
Takeya Mizugaki vs. Francisco Rivera
James Krause vs. Jamie Varner


PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. ET):

Michael Chiesa vs. Francisco Trinaldo
Tony Ferguson vs. Katsunori Kikuno
Chico Camus vs. Chris Holdsworth
Mitch Clarke vs. Al Iaquinta


PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 6:30 p.m. ET):

Anthony Njokuani vs. Vinc Pichel
Doo Ho Choi vs. Sam Sicilia
Jingliang Li vs. Danny Mitchell

[keithlewis]

A shuffle to which UFC President Dana White recently alluded is now official, and a highly anticipated matchup between Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva now takes place July 5 in Las Vegas at UFC 175, while Junior dos Santos vs. Stipe Miocic replaces that fight as the headliner for May’s UFC Fight Night 42 in Brazil. White today revealed the moves to Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports though an exact reason for the moves wasn’t given.

UFC 173: Barao vs Dillashaw
May 24, 2014
MGM Grand Garden Arena
Las Vegas, Nevada



Main Card (Pay-Per-View):

Renan Barao (33-1, 1 NC) vs. TJ Dillashaw (9-2)
Robbie Lawler (22-10, 1 NC) vs. Jake Ellenberger (29-7)
Takeya Mizugaki (19-7-2) vs. Francisco Rivera (10-2)
Jamie Varner (21-9-1, 2 NC) vs. James Krause (20-5)
Michael Chiesa (10-1) vs. Francisco Trinaldo (14-3)


Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1):

Tony Ferguson (14-3) vs. Katsunori Kikuno (22-5-2)
Chris Holdsworth (5-0) vs. Chico Camus (14-4)
Al Iaquinta (8-2-1) vs. Mitch Clarke (10-2)
Anthony Njokuani (16-7, 1 NC) vs. Vinc Pichel (8-1)


Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass):

Sam Sicilia (12-4) vs. Doo Ho Choi (11-1)
Danny Mitchell (14-5) vs. Li Jingliang (8-2)

[ST3ALTHSE7EN]

It looks like Dana White has laid out another match up that many are already speculating.

Dan Henderson will be taking on Daniel Cormier at UFC 173. The winner will then get an immediate title shot.

Talk about a bomb. Right? Who do you have taking this fight?

[keithlewis]

Here is the official announcement!


Former PRIDE and STRIKEFORCE champion (No. 6) Dan Henderson will take on surging title contender (No. 5) Daniel Cormier in a highly-anticipated light heavyweight clash at UFC 173 on Saturday, May 24 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The Henderson-Cormier bout will serve as the night's co-main event.

Coming off an impressive KO victory against Mauricio "Shogun” Rua in March, Henderson (30-11, fighting out of Temecula, Calif.) proved he still has what it takes to compete with the UFC’s best. Currently ranked sixth in the division, Henderson owns career victories over some of the sport's top names, including Fedor Emelianenko, Vitor Belfort, Michael Bisping, Rich Franklin and Rafael "Feijão" Cavalcante. Now, he looks to derail Cormier and move closer to a coveted UFC title shot.

Undefeated in his professional career and currently ranked fifth in the UFC's talented 205-pound division, Cormier (14-0, fighting out of San Jose, Calif.) made his light heavyweight debut in February by knocking out Patrick Cummins. A teammate and training partner of UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, "DC" holds signature victories over former UFC champions Josh Barnett and Frank Mir. A victory over MMA legend Henderson on May 24 could secure him a date with the UFC light heavyweight champion.

[keithlewis]

UFC 173 has a new opening bout.

With England's Danny Mitchell forced to withdraw from his UFC 173 bout with China Top Team's Li Jingliang, unbeaten David Michaud will step up to the plate for the May 24 opener in Las Vegas. A South Dakota native who competed on season 16 of The Ultimate Fighter, Michaud (7-0) said of his Octagon debut, "I have been training for this since I was 15 and now that I finally got the call I am ready to show all the hard work that I have put in to get here."

http://www.ufc.com


UFC 173: Barao vs Dillashaw
May 24, 2014
MGM Grand Garden Arena
Las Vegas, Nevada


Main Card (Pay-Per-View):

Renan Barao (33-1, 1 NC) vs. TJ Dillashaw (9-2)
Dan Henderson (30-11) vs. Daniel Cormier (14-0)
Robbie Lawler (22-10, 1 NC) vs. Jake Ellenberger (29-7)
Takeya Mizugaki (19-7-2) vs. Francisco Rivera (10-2)
Jamie Varner (21-9-1, 2 NC) vs. James Krause (20-5)


Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1):

Michael Chiesa (10-1) vs. Francisco Trinaldo (14-3)
Tony Ferguson (14-3) vs. Katsunori Kikuno (22-5-2)
Chris Holdsworth (5-0) vs. Chico Camus (14-4)
Al Iaquinta (8-2-1) vs. Mitch Clarke (10-2)


Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass):

Anthony Njokuani (16-7, 1 NC) vs. Vinc Pichel (8-1)
Sam Sicilia (12-4) vs. Doo Ho Choi (11-1)
Li Jingliang (8-2) vs. David Michaud (7-0)