UFC 173

UFC 173: Barão vs. Dillashaw
A poster or logo for UFC 173: Barão vs. Dillashaw.
Information
Promotion	Ultimate Fighting Championship
Date	May 24, 2014 (2014-05-24)
Venue	MGM Grand Garden Arena
City	Las Vegas, Nevada
Attendance	11,036
Total gate	$1.7 million
Buyrate	215,000
Event chronology
UFC Fight Night: Brown vs. Silva UFC 173: Barão vs. Dillashaw UFC Fight Night: Munoz vs. Mousasi

UFC 173: Barão vs. Dillashaw was a mixed martial arts event held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 24, 2014.

A Middleweight Championship bout between the former champion Chris Weidman and number one contender Vitor Belfort was scheduled to headline this event. However, on February 27, the Nevada State Athletic Commission officially banned testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) from combat sports. Belfort, who was using such therapy, was forced to withdraw from the bout and stated, "Given the time constraints involved between now and my proposed next bout in May, I have determined not to apply for a license to fight in Nevada at this time."

The main event was quickly changed as former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida agreed to step in to face Weidman for the title. However, on March 24, the UFC announced that Weidman had suffered a knee injury and that a new headline bout would be found. The Weidman title defense against Machida was moved to UFC 175 in July.

After the announcement that Weidman/Machida bout had been moved, a Bantamweight Championship bout between Renan Barão and Raphael Assunção was targeted as the event headliner. However, Assunção opted to decline the bout as a rib injury sustained in his last bout at UFC 170 had not healed enough to resume the proper training in advance of the event. Barão instead fought T.J. Dillashaw in the main event. As a result, Dillashaw's original opponent at the event, Takeya Mizugaki, faced Francisco Rivera.