As the days wind down to hours heading into UFC 170, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s matchmakers have been working overtime, adding two bouts to the UFC 173 fight card late Thursday night.
UFC officials announced bouts for UFC 173 that include Chris Holdsworth vs. Kyung Ho Kang in a bantamweight bout and a featherweight fight pitting Doo Ho Choi vs. Sam Sicilia.
Coming off of a victory over David Grant to capture The Ultimate Fighter 18 bantamweight crown, Holdsworth (5-0) is looking to step out of the shadow of the reality series and into the Octagon’s white-hot spotlight.
In Kang (12-7), he’s facing a former Road FC champion that is still trying to get his UFC feet underneath him as well. The South Korean fighter has two bouts to his credit in the Octagon, losing his debut effort against Chico Camus before defeating Shunichi Shimizu in his follow-up effort.
Kang’s countryman, Choi (11-1), hasn’t lost in nearly four years and is riding a nine-fight winning streak into his promotional debut. He faces a rough welcoming party in Sicilia.
Sicilia (12-4) rode a six-fight winning streak of his own into his UFC debut, but has struggled to establish himself. He won his first fight at the TUF 15 Finale, but now has a 2-3 record in the Octagon, and is coming off of a loss to Cole Miller heading into the fight with Choi.
The two new bouts are part of the supporting cast for the headlining title bout between UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman and challenger Vitor Belfort.
UFC 173 takes place on May 24 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and airs live on pay-per-view.
