Outside Source
Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. Ray Borg will be returning to action soon as he takes on a once-beaten Ultimate Fighting Championship debutant at the beginning of August.
Following a report from MMA Junkie on Friday, Borg (13-5) confirmed on his Instagram that he will be greeting Joseph Nathan Maness (11-1) to the Octagon on Aug. 1. On Friday morning, Maness announced that he had been signed by the Las Vegas-based promotion, and the UFC granted him an opponent at bantamweight in a hurry. The two will be locking horn at UFC Fight Night 173 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Borg will be stepping back in the cage after a sudden withdrawal before his June bout against Merab Dvalishvili. With Borg forced to remove himself from the fight due to personal issues, “The Taxmexican Devil” holds the unlikely distinction of having the second-most withdrawals from UFC bouts (eight) in organizational history. The only UFC fighter forced to bow out of more fights is Thiago Alves, with nine. Borg’s last appearance came in May, where he dropped a split verdict to Ricky Simon to snap a two-fight win streak.
Unbeaten as a professional at 10-0 after winning the TKO Major League MMA title in 2018, Maness suffered his first career defeat at the feet of UFC vet Taylor Lapilus in May 2019. “Mayhem” rebounded with a resounding knockout of Kellen VanCamp in February, which led to his signing.
UFC Fight Night 173 will be topped by a crucial women’s bantamweight tilt between former champ Holly Holm and rising star Irene Aldana. Co-headlining the card on Aug. 1 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas is a major middleweight battle between Derek Brunson and the unbeaten Edmen Shahbazyan.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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