Top UFC Star Injured, New UFC 173 Main Event Revealed, Title Fight Set, Octagon Girl Contest Video
- Along with having one of the most heated coaching rivalries in Ultimate Fighter history, TUF Brazil 3 is also bringing us a different sort of competition. In the video above, you can see that a Octagon Girl Contest for the reality series is going to be conducted. Head coach and former title contender Chael Sonnen explains all about it. The series airs exclusively on UFC Fight Pass.
- Injuries continue to affect the planning schedule for upcoming UFC events, as officials were forced to secure a new main event for UFC 173 after Chris Weidman was injured. Renan Barao, the reigning UFC bantamweight champion, will defend his belt against T.J. Dillashaw on May 24 from Las Vegas. MMAjunkie.com first reported news of the fight announcement late Thursday evening.
Barao (32-1) is unbeaten in his last 32 fights, including a recent win over Urijah Faber. He became the undisputed champion when Dominick Cruz was stripped of the belt after suffering another injury. Dillashaw (9-2) is an alum of The Ultimate Fighter. He recently topped Mike Easton and was selected for the title shot after Raphael Assuncao declined due to lingering injuries.
Other fights planned for the Memorial Day weekend card include Junior dos Santos vs. Stipe Miocic and Francisco Rivera vs. Takeya Mizugaki.
- Looking ahead, UFC officials confirmed that lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and Gilbert Melendez will fill the main event role on the year-ending card in December. The two are set to coach the 20th season of The Ultimate Fighter later this year. The cast of fighters will be all females in the strawweight division.
Pettis (17-2) won the belt with a first round submission victory last August over Benson Henderson. He was scheduled to defend his title against Josh Thomson in December, but a knee injury knocked him out. Melendez (22-3) is a former Strikeforce lightweight champion who turned down an offer from Bellator to resign with the UFC. He defeated Diego Sanchez late last year.
No official date has been set for the pay-per-view card, but December 27 is the likely choice as it is the final Saturday in the month.
- Former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre's comeback trail hit a snag recently, as the Canadian confirmed on Twitter that he suffered a torn ACL in training. St-Pierre, who vacated the title last December citing a desire to step away from MMA for the time being, suffered the injury in training. Prior to the injury, no timetable for his return to action had been set, but this will delay it for several months.
The UFC crowned a new champion in the division when Johny Hendricks bested Robbie Lawler earlier this month.
Tore my left ACL in training. Surgery in a few days. Rehab, pain, hard work, no shortcuts- I'll soon be back at 100%. Thanks for the support
? Georges St-Pierre (@GeorgesStPierre) March 27, 2014