OFFICIAL! @DerekBrunson
locks in our main event.
#UFCVegas5 pic.twitter.com/wdgmbdtIIb— UFC (@ufc)
July 31, 2020
Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. Try as they might, the
Ultimate Fighting Championship could not salvage all three
fights impacted by late-notice withdrawals. The
Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Las Vegas after a
month in Abu Dhabi with
UFC Fight Night 173. The event is headlined by two middleweight
contenders as Derek
Brunson and Edmen
Shahbazyan will both look to get one step closer to a crack at
UFC gold with a victory.
With a recent TKO loss to champion Israel
Adesanya, Brunson (20-7) appeared further away than ever from a
potential title fight. The North Carolina native has bounced back
since that defeat with decision wins over Ian
Heinisch and Elias
Theodorou. The 36-year-old hit the scales at the middleweight
limit of 186 pounds.
This marks the first headlining opportunity for the undefeated
Shahbazyan (11-0). The Glendale Fighting Club representative has
looked great since his Octagon debut against Darren
StewartBrad Tavares, Jack
Marshman and Charles
Byrd. He’ll now get a major step up in competition against
Brunson. The 22-year-old had little issue making weight and
officially came in at 185.5 pounds.
The weigh-ins were not without drama, as Jonathan
Martinez (140.5)* missed weight by 4.5 pounds for his
bantamweight bout against Frankie
Saenz. Martinez was fined a percentage of his purse, and the
fight will continue as scheduled. Also, short-notice replacement
Charlie
Ontiveros never made it to weigh-ins, and his bout with
Markus
Perez was canceled. This news accompanies
recent developments that forced several last-minute changes to
the card.
UFC Fight Night 173 will stream in its entirety on ESPN+. The
prelims begin on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT, while the main
card kicks off at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
UFC Fight Night 173 Weigh-in Results:
Derek
Brunson (186) vs. Edmen
Shahbazyan (185.5)
Joanne
Calderwood (126) vs. Jennifer
Maia (124.5)
Vicente
Luque (170.5) vs. Randy Brown
(170.5)
Lando
Vannata (155.5) vs. Bobby Green
(156)
Trevin
Giles (185) vs. Kevin
Holland (184)
Frankie
Saenz (136) vs. Jonathan
Martinez (140.5)*
Ed
Herman (206) vs. Gerald
Meerschaert (204.5)
Johnny
Munoz Jr. (145.5) vs. Joseph
Nathan Maness (144.5)
Markus
Perez (194.5) vs. Charlie
Ontiveros (N/A)**
Jamall
Emmers (146) vs. Vince
Cachero (145)
Chris
Gutierrez (135.5) vs. Cody Durden
(135.5)
* Martinez missed weight by 4.5 pounds and has been fined a
percentage of his purse.
** Ontiveros did not attend weigh-ins. The fight was canceled by
the Nevada State Athletic Commission.