A Cinderella story was made and it seemed like the clock had struck midnight and it all disappeared. Well, that is about to change, Tristan Connelly who had, in many people’s minds, the biggest upset victory of 2019 is back. The 35-year-old will return to his natural weight class, lightweight, as he takes on Pat Sabatini at UFC 261.
Tristan Connelly vs. Pat Sabatini at UFC 261
MMAJunkie.com was first to report the bout on Monday, with UFC officials confirming it shortly after.
Connelly (14-6) made his UFC debut in historic fashion, in front of his hometown crowd of Vancouver. The 155-pounder moved up to 170-pounds for the short notice fight against Michel Perreira. To those who know Tristan Connelly, there was never a doubt that he could get the job done, however, to those fans from around the globe that did not, he was a true underdog. And in Rudy-esque fashion, “Boondock” utilized his skillset to pick up the unanimous decision victory and in turn, handed Perreira his first UFC blemish.
Sabatini (13-3) will be making his Octagon debut after his original bout with Rafael Alves at UFC Fight Night 185 in February was cancelled. The CFFC featherweight kingpin is riding a two-fight winning streak, with his most recent victory being a second-round armbar stoppage against Jesse Stirn at CFFC 91.
The stacked UFC 261 fight card with the addition of Tristan Connelly vs. Pat Sabatini now looks as follows:
- Champ Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal – Welterweight Championship
- Champ Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jessica Andrade – Women’s Flyweight Championship
- Champ Zhang Weili vs. Rose Namajunas – Strawweight Championship
- Uriah Hall vs. Chris Weidman
- Jimmy Crute vs. Anthony Smith
- Randy Brown vs. Alex Oliveira
- Brendan Allen vs. Karl Roberson
- Danaa Batgerel vs. Kevin Natividad
- Qileng Aori vs. Jeffrey Molina
- Johnny Munoz vs. Jamey Simmons
- Kazula Vargas vs. Rong Zhu
- Dwight Grant vs. Stefan Sekulic
- Ariane Carnelossi vs. Na Liang
- Tristan Connelly vs. Pat Sabatini
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