Two New Bouts Added to UFC on ESPN 53; Chris Barnett Withdraws From Event

UFC on ESPN 53 has a few updates to its lineup, the promotion announced in a release on Tuesday.

First, a middleweight clash between Edmen Shahbazyan and Dusko Tudorovic has been added to March 23 card.

Shahbazyan signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the age of 20 and went 4-0 to start his promotional tenure — including three first-round stoppages. However, the once promising prospect has since lost four of his last five, though all of his losses have come against top-tier competition.

Meanwhile, Tudorovic has gone back and forth in his UFC journey since his debut in 2020, notching a 3-4 promotional record. The Serbian suffered a first-round technical knockout loss against Chris Leroy Duncan due to a knee injury in his most recent outing in March 2023.

Meanwhile, heavyweights Junior Tafa and Karl Williams, two competitors who made their promotional debuts last year, will also clash at UFC on ESPN 53.

After starting his pro career with four consecutive finishes, Tafa dropped a decision against Mohammed Usman (in his UFC debut this past April. However, the Australian knockout artist has since bounced back with a brutal Round 1 knockout of Parker Porter in August.

Meanwhile, Williams earned his contract with a decision win over Jimmy Lawson on Dana White’s Contender Series 2022 and has since picked up consecutive decision wins over Lukasz Brzeski and Chase Sherman to start his UFC journey.

UFC on ESPN 53 was also scheduled to witness the return of fan favorite Chris Barnett against the aforementioned Usman, who is the brother of former UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman. However, Barnett, who hasn’t competed since September 2022, has now pulled out of the matchup due to undisclosed reasons and will be replaced by undefeated Brit Michael Parkin.

Usman made his UFC debut with a brutal KO win over Zac Pauga and has since picked up consecutive decision wins. Meanwhile, Parkin will also enter the Octagon on the heels of back-to-back decision wins in the UFC following a Round 1 submission win over Eduardo Neves on Dana White’s Contender Series 2022 in August 2022.

UFC on ESPN 53 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a women’s flyweight clash pitting Amanda Ribas against Rose Namajunas.