UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan

UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan (also known as UFC Fight Night 173, UFC on ESPN+ 31 and UFC Vegas 5) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 1, 2020 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States.

Background

A women's bantamweight bout between former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion Holly Holm and Irene Aldana was originally slated to serve as the event headliner. However, it was reported on July 22 that Aldana had tested positive for COVID-19 and pulled out of the fight. As a result, Holm was removed from the card as well and the pairing was ultimately rescheduled for October, in the main event of UFC on ESPN: Holm vs. Aldana. Subsequently, a middleweight bout between Derek Brunson and Edmen Shahbazyan was then promoted to serve as a three-round main event. This fight was originally expected to take place in March at UFC 248, but eventually moved to UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris one month later. However, that event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pairing was rescheduled for this event.

A women's flyweight bout between former Invicta FC Flyweight Champion Jennifer Maia and Viviane Araújo was initially scheduled for June 27, at UFC on ESPN: Poirier vs. Hooker. However, the bout was rescheduled in mid-June and moved to this event after both participants faced travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Subsequently, Araújo was removed from the card on July 20 after testing positive for COVID-19 and replaced by Joanne Calderwood.

A welterweight bout between Vicente Luque and Randy Brown was initially scheduled for April 11, at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris. However, that event was cancelled in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pairing was rescheduled for this event.