UFC on ESPN: Dariush vs. Tsarukyan

UFC on ESPN: Dariush vs. Tsarukyan
The poster for UFC on ESPN: Dariush vs. Tsarukyan
Promotion	Ultimate Fighting Championship
Date	December 2, 2023 (2023-12-02)
Venue	Moody Center
City	Austin, Texas, United States
Attendance	14,485 [1]
Total gate	$2,450,000 [1]
Event chronology
UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Craig UFC on ESPN: Dariush vs. Tsarukyan UFC Fight Night: Song vs. Gutiérrez

UFC on ESPN: Dariush vs. Tsarukyan (also known as UFC on ESPN 52) was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 2, 2023, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, United States. ^[2]

Background

This event was originally targeted to take place at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. ^[3] However the event was instead moved to the Moody Center in Austin, Texas for unspecified reasons. This also marked the promotion's fifth visit to Austin and first since UFC on ESPN: Kattar vs. Emmett in June 2022. ^[2]

A lightweight bout between Beneil Dariush and Arman Tsarukyan headlined the event. ^[4]

A five round lightweight bout between Bobby Green and Dan Hooker was expected take place in the co-main event, which would have marked the sixth time a non-main event and non-title bout has been scheduled for five rounds. ^[4] However, the week before the event, Hooker withdrew due to a broken arm and was replaced by Jalin Turner in a three round bout. ^{[5] [6] [7]}

A middleweight bout between former UFC Middleweight Championship challenger Jared Cannonier and Roman Dolidze was expected to take place at the event. ^[8] However, Cannonier suffered a MCL tear in October during training and the bout was cancelled. ^{[9] [10]}

A light heavyweight bout between Azamat Murzakanov and Khalil Rountree Jr. was expected to take place at the event. ^[11] However, Murzakanov was diagnosed with pneumonia and pulled from the event. Rountree was instead matched up with former UFC Light Heavyweight Championship challenger Anthony Smith at UFC Fight Night: Song vs. Gutiérrez a week later. ^[12]

A featherweight bout between Steve Garcia and Melquizael Costa was expected to take place at the event. ^[13] However, the bout was scrapped when Garcia withdrew the day before due to illness. ^[14] The bout was rescheduled for UFC Fight Night: Song vs. Gutiérrez a week later. ^[15]

Results

Main card (ESPN / ESPN+)
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Lightweight	Arman Tsarukyan	def.	Beneil Dariush	KO (knee and punches)	1	1:04
Lightweight	Jalin Turner	def.	Bobby Green	KO (punches)	1	2:49
Bantamweight	Deiveson Figueiredo	def.	Rob Font	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Welterweight	Sean Brady	def.	Kelvin Gastelum	Submission (kimura)	3	1:43
Lightweight	Joaquim Silva	def.	Clay Guida	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Middleweight	Dustin Stoltzfus	def.	Punahele Soriano	Submission (rear-naked choke)	2	4:10
Preliminary card (ESPN+)
Women's Bantamweight	Miesha Tate	def.	Julia Avila	Submission (face crank)	3	1:15
Middleweight	Cody Brundage	def.	Zachary Reese	KO (slam and punches)	1	1:49
Lightweight	Drakkar Klose	def.	Joe Solecki	KO (slam)	1	1:41
Light Heavyweight	Rodolfo Bellato	def.	Ihor Potieria	TKO (punches)	2	4:17
Welterweight	Jared Gooden	def.	Wellington Turman	Submission (rear-naked choke)	2	1:11
Women's Flyweight	Veronica Hardy	def.	Jamey-Lyn Horth	Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28)	3	5:00

^[16]

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses. ^[17]

• Fight of the Night: Rodolfo Bellato vs. Ihor Potieria
• Performance of the Night: Arman Tsarukyan, Jalin Turner, Sean Brady, Dustin Stoltzfus, Miesha Tate, Cody Brundage, Drakkar Klose, and Jared Gooden

See also

• Martial Arts portal

• 2023 in UFC
• List of current UFC fighters
• List of UFC events

References

1. Bohn, Mike (December 3, 2023). "UFC on ESPN 52 post-event facts: Clay Guida sets dubious record with 18th octagon loss". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Archived from the original on December 4, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
2. King, Nolan (October 4, 2023). "UFC lays groundwork for Austin, Texas return in December". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Archived from the original on October 9, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
3. Calhoun, Curtis (2023-09-20). "Miesha Tate's Return Set For December 2 UFC Fight Night, Opponent Revealed". MMA News | UFC News, PPV & Fight Night Coverage, Interviews & Analysis. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
4. Martin, Damon (October 31, 2023). "Beneil Dariush vs. Arman Tsarukyan, Dan Hooker vs. Bobby Green headlines UFC Austin on Dec. 2". mmafighting.com. Archived from the original on October 31, 2023. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
5. Heck, Mike (November 21, 2023). "Injury scratches Dan Hooker from UFC Austin bout with Bobby Green". mmafighting.com. Archived from the original on November 22, 2023. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
6. Hannoun, Farah (November 22, 2023). "Dan Hooker blames himself for broken arm that forced UFC on ESPN 52 withdrawal". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Archived from the original on November 22, 2023. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
7. Bohn, Mike (November 23, 2023). "Jalin Turner replaces Dan Hooker, meets Bobby Green at UFC on ESPN 52". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Archived from the original on December 1, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
8. Martin, Damon; Heck, Mike (September 22, 2023). "Jared Cannonier vs. Roman Dolidze set for Dec. 2 UFC event". mmafighting.com. Archived from the original on September 23, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
9. Lee, Alexander K. (October 23, 2023). "Jared Cannonier explains injury that prevented him from fighting Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294". mmafighting.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
10. "Dolidze vs Imavov main event set for UFC on February 3". itnwwe.com. November 19, 2023. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
11. "Azamat Murzakanov vs Khalil Rountree Jr set for Dec 2 UFC event". itnwwe.com. September 23, 2023. Archived from the original on October 9, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
12. Wells, Matthew (November 25, 2023). "Anthony Smith replaces ill Azamat Murzakanov to face Khalil Rountree at UFC Fight Night 233". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
13. Nag, Sayan (October 9, 2023). "Steve Garcia and Melquizael Costa Slated to Clash at UFC Fight Night in Austin on Dec. 2". sherdog.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
14. Erickson, Matt (December 1, 2023). "Steve Garcia illness before weigh-ins scraps fight vs. Melquizael Costa at UFC on ESPN 52". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Archived from the original on December 1, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
15. "Steve Garcia Jr. vs Melquizael Costa Reported for UFC Vegas 83". itnwwe.com. December 3, 2023. Archived from the original on December 4, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
16. "UFC on ESPN: Dariush vs. Tsarukyan". UFC . Archived from the original on October 31, 2023. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
17. Taylor, Chris (December 2, 2023). "UFC Austin Bonus Report: 10 fighters take home $50k". bjpenn.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2023. Retrieved December 2, 2023.