Earlier this week news broke that UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman had been sidelined due to a training injury requiring surgical repair. The injury forced him out of his scheduled second title defense in the main event of UFC 173. The “All American” was set to face off against Vitor Belfort in the headlining fight out of the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV, but that has been postponed until UFC 175 in July.
With only 9 weeks left before the event, the UFC was forced to scramble for a headlining fight and they selected a bantamweight title fight for the open spot. The newly anointed 135 lb. champ Renan Barao will fight T.J. Dillashaw as top billing for the May 24 event.
Barao is coming off a first round stoppage over perennial contender Urijah Faber at UFC 169 just a few weeks ago. Prior to that he was the reigning interim champion of the division with two defenses of that title. Dillashaw is coming off a decision victory over Mike Easton in his last outing and sports a 5-2 record inside the Octagon.