The much anticipated rematch between UFC Bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw and Renan Barao at next month’s UFC 186 event in Montreal has been put on hold after Dillashaw reportedly suffered a cracked rib during training.
The delay marks the second time their rematch has been postponed, after Barao was forced to pull out of a planned bout with Dillashaw last summer at UFC 177 when after suffering an injury on weigh-on day.
The two fighters first met in the octagon in May of last year at UFC 173 in Las Vegas. Dillashaw stunned UFC fans by dominating the previously undefeated former champion, who was riding a 31-fight win.
Dillashaw, who owns a career record of 11-2-1 and currently is pegged at No. 7 in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings, handed Barao the first TKO defeat of his career, ending the fight in the fifth round with a combination of head kicks and punches.
The main event at UFC 186 is now expected to feature UFC Flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, putting his belt on the line against Kyoji Horiguchi.
Johnson returns to action after defending his Flyweight title for a fifth time last September at UFC 178 in Las Vegas. The 28 year-old, who fights out of Parkland, Washington, owns a record of 21-2-1 and has ended three of his last four fights by submission or TKO.
Horiguchi gets his title shot in just his fifth fight since joining the UFC. The 24 year-old from Japan owns a professional record of 15-1 and returns to the octagon soon after his recent victory by unanimous decision over Louis Gaudinot this past January at UFC 182 in Vegas.
In other upcoming UFC action, former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida returns to the octagon at UFC on Fox 15 next month at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, to take on former Strikeforce Middleweight champion Luke Rockhold in the card’s main event.
Machida will be looking to build on his Performance of the Night which he earned with a first-round TKO of CB Dollaway at last December’s UFC Fight Night in Barueri, Brazil. The victory marked Machida’s first fight since suffering a loss by unanimous decision to Chris Weidman in their battle for the UFC Middleweight crown at UFC 175.
Rockhold is pegged as a slim -145 favorite against Machida in UFC betting at sportsbooks available through bettingsports.com. The 30 year-old American also earned Performance of the Night honors in his last bout, a second-round submission victory over Michael Bisping at UFC Fight Night in Sydney, Australia last November.
Anthony Johnson will finally get his title shot against UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jon Jones at UFC 187, scheduled for May 23 in Las Vegas, but opens with long +220 odds of claiming the title in UFC online betting, versus short -280 odds favoring the champ.
UFC Middleweight champion will also put his title on the line at UFC 187, when he takes on former UFC Light Heavyweight champ Vitor Belfort as a heavy -450 betting favorite.
Belfort, who has posted three straight knockout victories since losing to Jones in his bid to regain the Light Heavyweight title at UFC 152, is pegged as the underdog, sporting long +325 odds in UFC betting at the online sportsbooks.