UFC on ESPN 53 on March 23 has undergone a change due to recent
fight cancellations.
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Edmen
Shahbazyan (12-4), who was initially scheduled to face Dusko
Todorovic (12-4) on the card, will now take on A. J. Dobson in
a middleweight clash at the event. The news was first announced by Dobson’s management on social media.
The matchup seems to have been put together following a last-minute
cancellation of Dobson’s
UFC 298 meeting with Tresean
Gore this weekend after the “The Ultimate Fighter” finalist was
forced to withdraw from the bout due to an undisclosed injury.
Shahbazyan, once a promising prospect, has gone 1-4 in his last
five promotional outings and will enter the Octagon on the heels of
a Round 3 technical knockout loss at the hands of Anthony
Hernandez in May of last year.
Meanwhile, Dobson will enter the Octagon on the heels of his first
UFC victory, a unanimous decision over Tafon
Nchukwi this past August. That triumph saw him bounce back from
a two-fight skid to begin his tenure in the Las Vegas-based
promotion.
UFC on ESPN 53 will be headlined by a flyweight clash between
former strawweight champion Rose
Namajunas and Amanda
Ribas.