UFC Austin, Random Land! 16 Tidbits, Facts And Storylines

After a rare week off, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns …

The world’s leading mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion travels to “The Lone Star State” with UFC Austin, which will take place this weekend (Sat., Dec. 2, 2023) inside Moody Center. In UFC Austin’s main event, Top 10-ranked Lightweights clash as No. 4-seeded Beneil Dariush takes on Arman Tsarukyan (No. 8).

UFC Austin is absolutely stacked with awesome fights up and down the card. So, before it goes down on ESPN (and ESPN+), let’s check out some random storylines, tidbits and statistics ahead of showtime …

Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Big Stakes

The main event has pretty big stakes for both fighters.

For Dariush, this may be his last chance for a legitimate Lightweight title run because if he wins, he puts himself right back into the conversation; however, with a loss, he will fall down the divisional ladder.

Or, “nothing” happens.

As for Tsarukyan, a win over Daruish is huge because it puts him into the Top 5, setting him up for a potential title eliminator fight, mainly because he already pushed Islam Makhachev to the limit in his UFC debut back in 2019.

‘Benny’ Gets First Main Event

After 22 fights in the promotion, Dariush will compete in his first-ever UFC main event. Dariush was supposed to headline his first card against Makhachev at UFC Vegas 49, but unfortunately, he suffered a devastating ankle injury that forced him out of the pivotal 155-pound bout. It is pretty wild that Dariush has never had a headlining spot with a 16-5-1 record in UFC, but nevertheless, it’s his time.

Main Event Redemption

Meanwhile, Tsarukyan competes in his second main event this weekend. The 27-year-old lost his main event debut against Mateusz Gamrot in a close, controversial unanimous decision at UFC Vegas 57 (watch highlights). Tsarukyan had another main event scheduled against Renato Moicano at UFC Vegas 72; however, the Brazilian suffered an injury and Tsarukyan got pulled from the card.

Will he find redemption this weekend?

‘City Of The Violet Crown’

The last time UFC was in Austin, “Kattar vs. Emmett” turned out to be one of the best fight cards of 2022. There were nine finishes, and some of them were super violent — like Roman Dolidze destroying Kyle Daukaus’ face with a knee, Ricardo Ramos knocking out Danny Chavez with a spinning elbow, and Adrian Yanez stopping Tony Kelley and then flipping him off.

Co-Main Switch Up

The highly-anticipated scrap between Bobby Green vs. Dan Hooker fell apart last week when “Hangman” re-broke his arm. No. 12-ranked Lightweight, Jalin Turner, stepping up on one week’s notice to fill in.

It almost didn’t happen … but cash is king?

Five To Three

Green vs. Hooker was supposed to be a five-round main event; however, because of the late notice switch, the fight is now a normal three-round fight.

Can ‘Tarantula’ Make The Weight?

There is no secret that Turner cuts significant weight to make 155 pounds. After him missing weight in his last bout against Hooker at UFC 290, there are concerns if he can make weight on just one week’s notice. While it was the first time in Turner’s career that he missed weight, it is something to keep an eye on.

Good news: He made it … barely.

Moving Up!

After 25 fights at Flyweight — including two UFC title reigns — Deiveson Figueiredo is moving up to Bantamweight. Like Turner, Figueiredo had a tough time making 125 pounds because he cuts a lot of weight, but now — on the back end of his career — a move is being made. At 5’5,” “Deus Da Guerra” might be undersized for the Bantamweight division, but his power could compensate for the height deficiency.

No. 8-ranked Bantamweight, Rob Font, welcomes Figueiredo to the 135-pound division.

WELTERWEIGHT KELVIN IS BACK!

Another fighter at UFC Austin is making a change: Former Middleweight interim title challenger, Kelvin Gastelum. After 12 fights at Middleweight, Gastelum returns to the division he started his career in, Welterweight.

Just like Turner, there are some concerns about Gastelum making the Welterweight limit because he has missed weight three times before, which forced him to move to Middleweight.

Even though he is only 32 years old, he has a lot of mileage on him.

If Gastelum stayed at Welterweight his entire career, he probably could have challenged for a championship or even become champion, so it’s exciting to see how he looks.

Dana White, too.

Former Champion Buried On ‘Prelims’

Former women’s Bantamweight roost-ruler, Miesha Tate, returns to action at UFC Austin after an unsuccessful Flyweight debut at UFC on ABC 3 earlier this year.

It was a big error.

Now, Tate returns to the Bantamweight division where she spent her entire UFC career. “Cupcake” will be featured on the “Prelims” undercard for the first time since UFC 183 (Jan. 31, 2015) against Julia Avila.

Weird.

‘Raging Panda’ Returns

Speaking of Avila, she returns from a 29-month layoff against Tate. In her time away, “Raging Panda” gave birth to a daughter and had knee surgery. In her UFC Austin media day interview, Avila revealed she ballooned up to 225 pounds after her pregnancy and had to work hard to get back into fight shape.

Avila is 3-1 in UFC and is coming off a submission win over Julija Stoliarenko at UFC Vegas 30.

Mom Vs. Mom

One last thing about Tate vs. Avila: It is a “Mom vs. Mom” matchup, and since becoming a mother, Tate is 1-1 against other moms.

Welcome To UFC!

Two fighters are making their UFC debut this weekend.

• Zach Reese (6-0) takes on Cody Brundage. Reese is coming off a contract-winning performance on season seven of Contender Series against Eli Aronov. He holds a 100 percent finish rate, with all of them coming in the first round.
• Rodolfo Bellato (11-2) fights Ihor Potieria. Bellato also comes off a contract-winning performance on season seven of Contender Series against Murtaza Talha. The Brazilian holds a 91 percent finish rate with six knockouts.

Winners And Losers

Twelve fighters are coming off wins, while 14 are coming off losses.

Multi-Divisions

Here are the divisions that will be on display this Saturday:

• One Light Heavyweight fight
• Two Middleweight fights
• Two Welterweight fights
• Four Lightweight fights
• One Featherweight fight
• One Bantamweight fights
• One women’s Flyweight fight
• One women’s Bantamweight fight

Beta Dog

According to DraftKings, UFC Austin’s “biggest” underdog is Potieria at +320.

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Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Austin fight card right here, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance on ESPN (also on ESPN+) at 7 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Austin: “Dariush vs. Tsarukyan” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.