UFC on ESPN 14 - Whittaker vs. Till --- UFC Fight Night 174 - Lewis vs. Oleinik
UFC Fight Night 173: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan is a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will take place on August 1, 2020 at the UFC APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.
Fight card
Main card (ESPN+)
Middleweight Derek Brunson vs. Edmen Shahbazyan
Women's Flyweight Joanne Calderwood vs. Jennifer Maia
Welterweight Vicente Luque vs. Randy Brown
Lightweight Lando Vannata vs. Bobby Green
Middleweight Kevin Holland vs. Trevin Giles
Preliminary Card (ESPN/ESPN+)
Bantamweight Frankie Saenz vs. Jonathan Martinez
Light Heavyweight Ed Herman vs. Gerald Meerschaert
Bantamweight Ray Borg vs. Nathan Maness
Middleweight Eric Spicely vs. Markus Perez
Featherweight Jamall Emmers vs. Timur Valiev
Bantamweight Chris Gutiérrez vs. Cody Durden
Background
A women's bantamweight bout between former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion Holly Holm and Irene Aldana was originally slated to serve as the event headliner. However, it was reported on July 22 that Aldana pulled out of the fight due to testing positive for COVID-19.. As a result, Holm was removed from the card as well and the pairing was expected to be left intact and rescheduled for a future event. Subsequently, a middleweight bout between Derek Brunson and Edmen Shahbazyan has been elevated to serve as the main event. This fight was originally expected to take place in March at UFC 248, but eventually moved to UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris one month later. However, the event was ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pairing was rescheduled for this event.
A women's flyweight bout between former Invicta FC Flyweight Champion Jennifer Maia and Viviane Araújo was initially scheduled for June 27, at UFC on ESPN: Poirier vs. Hooker. However, the bout was rescheduled in mid-June and moved to this event after both participants faced travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Subsequently, Araujo was removed from the card on July 20 after testing positive for COVID-19 and replaced by Joanne Calderwood.
A welterweight bout between Vicente Luque and Randy Brown was initially scheduled for April 11, at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris. However, the event was cancelled in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pairing was rescheduled for this event.
A women's bantamweight bout between Ketlen Vieira and former Invicta FC Bantamweight Champion and UFC Women's Featherweight Championship challenger Yana Kunitskaya was initially scheduled for this event, but eventually moved to UFC Fight Night 174 a week later.
South Korean fighters Jun Yong Park and Da Ung Jun were respectively expected to face Trevin Giles and Ed Herman at the event. However, Park and Jun were both removed from the bouts on July 23 due to alleged travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In turn, Giles will now face Kevin Holland, while Herman will now face Gerald Meerschaert.
Luke Sanders was expected to face Chris Gutiérrez at the event. However, Sanders was removed from the bout in mid-July for undisclosed reasons and replaced by promotional newcomer Cody Durden.
