Piotr Hallmann vs. Yves Edwards Joins UFC 173 Fight Card

A lightweight bout between Piotr Hallmann, a Polish Lieutenant and now rising MMA star, and longtime veteran Yves Edwards has been added to UFC 173 which take places May 24 in Las Vegas.

Such a fight is rare these days as it pits one of the division’s original prospects, Edwards, against a fighter in Hallmann who was only 10 years old at the time Edwards was making his MMA debut. In fact, by the time that Hallmann had his first professional bout in November of 2009, Edwards had already amassed a record of 36-15-1.

In MMA, we have seen greats such as Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell only have 30 and 29 fights in their whole careers respectively. As such, it is clear that Edwards has somehow stood the test of time but come May 24, he will be facing a fighter in Hallmann who is looking at Edwards as a stepping stone from which to build a career of his own.

Hallmann entered the UFC in September of last year and got off to a good start by picking up the win and “Submission of the Night” bonus against Francisco Trinaldo. However, Hallmann better hope that his first impression is a lasting one given that he followed up that performance with a loss to Al Iaquinta last time out, albeit a loss that came a little over a month after his initial debut.

Despite his impressive record, Edwards’ career may currently be in jeopardy at least inside the UFC, as he has lost his last three fights.

UFC 173 will take place from the MGM Grand Garden Arena and will be headlined by a middleweight title bout between champion Chris Weidman and former light heavyweight kingpin Lyoto Machida.