Renan Barao vs. T.J. Dillashaw set as new main event for UFC 173

[Dale]

When one door slams shut, another swings wide open. No. 5 ranked bantamweight contender T.J. Dillashaw will meet UFC champion Renan Barao on two month's notice as the new main event of UFC 173, according to a report by USA Today.

The bout serves as a replacement headliner following the postponement of UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman's title defense against Lyoto Machida. Weidman is scheduled to undergo dual knee surgery next week, and his bout against Machida is now slated to headline UFC 175.

According to the report, No. 3 ranked contender Raphael Assuncao, who narrowly defeated Dillashaw last October, was initially chosen to challenge Barao, however lingering injuries prevented Assuncao from accepting the short notice bout.

Dillashaw was previously scheduled to fight Takeya Mizugaki on UFC 173's main card. A replacement opponent for Mizugaki is expected to be announced in the coming days.

Barao (32-1, 1 NC) is undefeated in 33 straight fights, the last seven of which took place under the UFC umbrella. He most recently defended his title for the third consecutive time in early February, finishing Urijah Faber via first-round TKO.

Faber's teammate, Dillashaw (9-2), has rolled to a sterling 5-1 record since falling short at The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale in 2011. The Team Alpha Male product recently rebounded from his loss to Assuncao by outclassing No. 6 ranked Mike Easton en route to a unanimous decision win in January.

UFC 173 takes place May 24, 2014 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV. An updated fight card can be seen below.

Main Card (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
Renan Barao vs. T.J. Dillashaw
Junior dos Santos vs. Stipe Miocic
Takeya Mizugaki vs. TBA
Tony Ferguson vs. Katsunori Kikuno
James Krause vs. Jamie Varner

Preliminary Card (FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. ET)
Michael Chiesa vs. Francisco Trinaldo
Chris Holdsworth vs. Kyung Ho Kang
Mitch Clarke vs. Al Iaquinta
Anthony Njokuani vs. Vinc Pichel

Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass, 6:30 p.m. ET)
Yves Edwards vs. Piotr Hallmann
Doo Ho Choi vs. Sam Sicilia
Jingliang Li vs. Danny Mitchell

Another notch on the belt for Barao then..

 

[Chris]

I like Dillashaw, but he's not ready for a title shot yet. Injuries sure are a bitch

 

[Deezy]

That weight class is almost as barren as Heavyweight.

UFC just making Barao the Alpha Male hunter? Gotta be white and from Californaia to get a title shot?

 

[Slim]

Well I guess this will be a decent main event. Always nice to see Barao out there.

 

[Hot Rod]

Dillashaw was actually the 2nd choice, it was originally given to Raphael Assunção, but he wasn't able to take the fight due to broken ribs.

I think either way Barao would have retained, he's gonna hang on to that belt for awhile I feel.

 

[The Cork]

Ahahahahahahahahaha