Countdown To UFC 173 With Champ, Former UFC Contender Injured, Hector Lombard Booked
- Renan Barao, who UFC president Dana White believes is one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world, will return to the Octagon this Saturday at UFC 173 against T.J. Dillashaw for his bantamweight title. You can get an in-depth look at Barao and Dillashaw in the video above courtesy of "Countdown to UFC 173."
Barao hasn't lost since his pro debut, scoring victories with the UFC over the likes of Urijah Faber, Eddie Wineland and Michael McDonald. Dillashaw is a product of the Team Alpha Male camp and will be trying to do what Faber, Joseph Benavidez and Chad Mendes could not – win a title in the UFC for the gym.
Wrestling Inc. will be providing complete and free coverage of the pay-per-view main card beginning at 10 p.m. ET Saturday night. Other scheduled bouts include Daniel Cormier-Dan Henderson and Jake Ellenberger-Robbie Lawler.
- The World Series of Fighting has been hit hard by the injury bug, as the promotion has now lost a planned welterweight encounter between Jake Shields and Jon Fitch. The former UFC title contenders were expected to meet July 5, but Shields suffered an injury, according to a report by MMAFighting.com.
Fitch (25-6-1) is scheduled to remain on the card, which could air on NBC instead of NBC Sports Network. He improved to 2-3-1 in his last six with a split decision victory over Marcelo Alfaya last October after losing his WSOF debut via submission.
Shields (29-7-1) was cut from the UFC after a decision loss to Hector Lombard. The former Strikeforce champion is 5-3 with one no-contest since 2010. The WSOF 11 card features a bout between Justin Gaethje and Nick Newell for the lightweight title, along with Melvin Guillard vs. Gesias Cavalcante.
- Hector Lombard will not be facing Matt Brown next, as the former Bellator champion is set to meet Dong Hyun Kim at UFC Fight Night from China in August. Lombard was pushing hard to challenge Brown, who has won seven straight.
After a report on "UFC Tonight" stated plans for Lombard-Kim, Lombard took to Instagram and stated that, "You got lucky Matt Brown," posting a picture of himself with "Stun Gun." Since coming to the UFC, Lombard has gone 3-2, including a recent victory over Jake Shields to improve to 34-4-1 overall.
Kim, a native of South Korea, earned a spinning back elbow finish of John Hathaway earlier this year when the Octagon was set up in China. He is 19-2-1 and on a four-fight win streak that also includes a knockout of Erick Silva.