The UFC 177 pay-per-view will go on as planned tonight with only nine fights and a brand new main event title fight that was made in the last 24 hours.
Former Bellator and Tachi Palace Fights champion Joe Soto steps into the title bout against the champion TJ Dillashaw with the opportunity of a lifetime. When Renan Barao was forced to withdraw from the main event rematch yesterday due to complications in his weight cut, the UFC had the option to either cancel the card or find a replacement in just hours notice. Joe Soto stepped up, and he will be getting a UFC title shot in his debut with the promotion.
While it may not have been the fight we all hoped for and prepared for, this is still an excellent bout with an intriguing storyline.
Before the six fight main card gets underway, there are three exciting preliminary bouts on Fox Sports 1 to kick off the event.
In the first fight of the night, former Ring of Combat lightweight champion Chris Wade made quick work of Cain Carrizosa with a beautiful arm-in guillotine choke that put Carrizosa to sleep quickly. With the win, Wade put the lightweight divisio on notice in his UFC debut and improves his winning streak to three straight.
The second bout of the evening was a not so eventful heavyweight affair between Ruan Potts and Anthony Hamilton. Potts was seemingly injured and exhausted after a ferocious takedown from Hamilton early on in the fight. After a round and a half of little action, Hamilton took Potts down and brutalized his body en route to the TKO finish.
In the main event of the prelims, middleweights Derek Brunson and Lorenz Larkin threw down in a three round affair. In the end, Brunson utilized his superior wrestling and ground control to take the unanimous decision over Larkin.
UFC 177 prelim results:
Derek Brunson defeats Lorenz Larkin via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Anthony Hamilton defeats Ruan Potts via TKO (body shots) Round 2 (4:17)
Chris Wade defeats Cain Carrizosa via Submission (modified guillotine choke) Round 1 (1:12)
