A few things to know about UFC 213
A UFC Bantamweight Championship bout between current champion Cody Garbrandt and former champion T.J. Dillashaw was expected to take place at this event.
But on May 23, Garbrandt withdraw due to a back injury and the bout was scrapped.
An interim UFC Middleweight Championship bout between 2000 Olympic silver medalist and former world champion in freestyle wrestling Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker.
Robert Whittaker is expected to serve as the co-headliner.
A welterweight bout between former UFC Welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler and former UFC Lightweight Championship challenger Donald Cerrone was originally booked for UFC 205.
However, Lawler pulled out to take a little more time after losing his title via knockout at UFC 201.
The Main card:
A UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship bout between current champion Amanda Nunes and multiple-time Muay Thai world champion Valentina Shevchenko is expected to headline this event.
The two fighters met previously in March 2016 at UFC 196, with Nunes winning by unanimous decision.
The Main Card Consists of: (Source: UFC.com)
Women's Bantamweight - Bantamweight Title fight: Amanda Nunes (c) vs. Valentina Shevchenko
Middleweight - Interim Title fight: Yoel Romero vs. Robert Whittaker
Heavyweight Daniel Omielaczuk vs. Curtis Blaydes
Heavyweight Fabrício Werdum vs. Alistair Overeem
Lightweight Anthony Pettis vs. Jim Miller
Below are a few things to know about UFC 213 fight card.
UFC 213
Amanda Nunes vs. Valentina Shevchenko 2 is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that will be held on July 8, 2017, at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The event will take place during the UFC's annual International Fight Week.
Timing
Preliminary Card(UFC Fight Pass): 6:30pm ET (4:00AM IST)
Preliminary Card(Fox Sports 1): 8pm ET (5:30AM IST)
PPV main card: 10pm ET (7:30 AM IST)
The main event is expected to take place 12:30AM ET (10AM IST)
Channel
Live and Exclusive on Sunday 9th July 2017 at 07:30 AM on SONY ESPN SD, SONY ESPN HD.
Injury marred the marquee fight
UFC 213 was expected to bring us two titles fights at 135 pounds with Amanda Nunes defending her title against Valentina Shevchenko and Cody Garbrandt settling the score against T.J. Dillashaw.
But with Garbrandt having to undergo back surgery, the fight was scrapped, leaving a hole in the co-main event. Plus, Donald Cerrone and Robbie Lawler were expected to fight in the welterweight division, but a blood infection forced "Cowboy" out.
A worthy replacement for the co – main event
Yoel Romero will battle Robert Whittaker for the interim middleweight crown. Two of the fastest rising fighters in the company, Romero and Whittaker will enter the cage riding a combined 15-fight winning streak.
It's hard enough to win two or three fights in a row in UFC, but these guys (Romero 8, Whittaker 7) have been two of the best in the business.
A grudge match at heavyweight
Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum have fought twice before but never under the UFC banner. The two will lock horns for the likely chance to challenge Stipe Miocic next. Despite both men being knocked out by Miocic within the last year.
A veteran lightweight showdown
Anthony Pettis the former 155-pound champion lost his belt in 2015 to begin a three-fight losing streak. He decided to move down to 145 pounds and see if he could make it there but Pettis failed to make weight before getting pummeled by Max Holloway. Now, Pettis is back up to 155 and challenging veteran and fan favourite Jim Miller, who had his three-fight winning streak broken by a majority decision loss to Dustin Poirier in February.
Pettis is fighting for his career 1-5 mark over 6 fights.
On a winning streak
Scoring a submission win over Tate for the title and a knockout of Rousey in the first round, Amanda Nunes is quickly becoming one of the top power punchers in the women's bantamweight division. She gets to face an opponent she faced last year in Shevchenko where she won by unanimous decision. Since 2011, Shevchenko is the only fighter to take Nunes this far in MMA.
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