Well, who saw that coming?
UFC 177 was already considered a less-than-stellar event by pay-per-view standards, but Friday’s news that Renan Barao pulled out of his main event title bout with T.J. Dillashaw was devastating.
Barao was pulled from the anticipated rematch–Dillashaw upset Barao to win the bantamweight title at UFC 173 in May–after the Brazilian reportedly passed out while cutting weight.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Watch UFC 177 preliminary fights Saturday on Sportsnet 360 starting at 8 p.m. EST
In steps the first Bellator featherweight champion Joe Soto, who was originally scheduled to fight fellow UFC newcomer Anthony Birchak on the undercard. Soto, a college roommate of UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones, now has a chance to pull off arguably the biggest upset in UFC history if he can beat Dillashaw, whom he has trained with in the past.
While the card has received its fair of criticism, it still features many compelling matchups.
With all the facelifts it has undergone in recent weeks–it was initially set to feature a flyweight title fight in the co-main event before Demetrious Johnson vs. Chris Cariaso was shifted to UFC 178–the lightweight bout between Danny Castillo and Tony Ferguson becomes all that more important.
Shayna Baszler, one of the pioneers in women’s MMA, makes her UFC debut against Bethe Correia, who is coming off a win over Baszler’s teammate Jessamyn Duke.
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The undercard also features TUF 13 finalist Ramsey Nijem taking on highly touted Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Carlos Diego Ferreira in a 155-pound tilt.
Plus, lightweight Yancy Medeiros looks for his first UFC win as he welcomes promotional newcomer Damon Jackson to the Octagon.
The prelims on Sportsnet 360 feature former Strikeforce middleweight stars Derek Brunson and Lorenz Larkin.
Here’s a look at the entire card.
MAIN CARD (PPV at 10 p.m. EST)
— T.J. Dillashaw vs. Joe Soto
— Danny Castillo vs. Tony Ferguson
— Shayna Baszler vs. Bethe Correia
— Carlos Diego Ferreira vs. Ramsey Nijem
— Damon Jackson vs. Yancy Medeiros
PRELIMS (Sportsnet360 at 8 p.m. EST)
Derek Brunson vs. Lorenz Larkin
Anthony Hamilton vs. Ruan Potts
Cain Carrizosa vs. Chris Wade
