UFC 173 fight card lineup announced; Varner-Krause will kickoff PPV

The annual UFC pay-per-view on Memorial Day weekend in Las Vegas will take place the MGM Grand Garden Arena and the fight card lineup has been announced by the UFC.UFC 173 Poster

The fight card will be headlined by a title fight as Chris Weidman will make his second middleweight title defense as he is challenged by former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida.

In the co-main event, former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos will return to the octagon for the first time since losing to UFC champion Cain Velasquez at UFC 166 as he will meet Stipe Miocic.

Also on the pay-per view will me a battle of top ten bantamweights at TJ Dillashaw meets Takeya Mizugaki, Ultimate Fighter 13 winner Tony Ferguson battles Katsunori Kikuno, and former WEC champion Jamie Varner faces James Krause in a lightweight bout.

The preliminary card will begin on Fight Pass with three fights and the final four prelim bouts will be shown on Fox Sports 1. The preliminary card on Fox Sports 1 will feature two recent Ultimate Fighter winners as Chris Holdsworth looks to remain unbeaten against Kyung Ho Kang and Michael Chiesa looks for his second straight win against Francisco Trinaldo.

The current UFC 173: Weidman vs. Machida complete fight card lineup is below.

Main Card: (PPV – 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT)
Chris Weidman (11-0) vs. Lyoto Machida (21-4)
Junior dos Santos (16-3) vs. Stipe Miocic (11-1)
TJ Dillashaw (9-2) vs. Takeya Mizugaki (19-7-2)
Tony Ferguson (14-3) vs. Katsunori Kikuno (22-5-2)
Jamie Varner (21-9-1 2NC) vs. James Krause (20-5)

Preliminary Card: (Fox Sports 1 – 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT)
Michael Chiesa (10-1) vs. Francisco Trinaldo (14-3)
Chris Holdsworth (5-0) vs. Kyung Ho Kang (12-7, 1NC)
Al Iaquinta (8-2-1) vs. Mitch Clarke (10-2)
Anthony Njokunai (16-7, 1NC) vs. Vinc Pichel (8-1)

Preliminary Card: (Fight Pass – 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT)
Yves Edwards (42-20-1, 1NC) vs. Piotr Hallmann (14-2)
Sam Sicilia (12-4) vs. Doo Ho Choi (11-1)
Jingliang Li (8-2) vs. Danny Mitchell (14-5-1)