Carlton Minus will still have the chance to compete Saturday.

Rick Glenn, who’s been forced out of UFC Fight Night 183 for undisclosed reasons, will be replaced by Christos Giagos, who will step in on short notice against Minus (10-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC).

Two people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the new booking Thursday, but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an announcement. The booking was first reported by BJPenn.com.

UFC Fight Night 183 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

Minus, a PFL and Alaska FC veteran, fell short in his promotional debut when he lost a unanimous decision to Matthew Semelsberger at UFC on ESPN 15.

Since rejoining the UFC roster in 2018, Giagos (17-8 MMA, 3-4 UFC) has gone 2-2, picking up decision wins over Mizuto Hirota and Damir Hadzovic. He hasn’t competed since a unanimous decision loss to Drakkar Klose in August 2019.

With the change, the UFC Fight Night 183 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)

• Stephen Thompson vs. Geoff Neal
• Jose Aldo vs. Marlon Vera
• Michel Pereira vs. Khaos Williams
• Rob Font vs. Marlon Moraes
• Greg Hardy vs. Marcin Tybura
• Gillian Robertson vs. Taila Santos
• Alex Morono vs. Anthony Pettis

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET)

• Sijara Eubanks vs. Pannie Kianzad
• Dalcha Lungiambula vs. Karl Roberson
• Antonio Arroyo vs. Deron Winn
• Tafon Nchukwi vs. Jamie Pickett
• Cody Durden vs. Jimmy Flick
• Christos Giagos vs. Carlton Minus

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/12/ufc-fight-night-183-rick-glenn-out-christos-giagos-vs-carlton-minus

After a total of 57 seconds in the UFC octagon, Khaos Williams already is 2-0.

Bursting into the national spotlight with a 27-second knockout of Alex Morono in February, Williams (11-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) returned in November and knocked out Abdul Razak Alhassan in 30 seconds.

Ahead of his UFC Fight Night 183 bout Saturday, however, Williams warned that his talents extend past quick knockouts. Audiences just haven’t had the opportunity to see that yet.

“There’s a lot (people haven’t seen),” Williams said. “I’m a well rounded fighter. I get better every day, you know. One of these days, maybe Saturday, the world will get to witness a little bit more.”

Williams is fine with continuing his quick knockout streak against Michel Pereira (24-11 MMA, 2-2 UFC) on Saturday. He knows the longer back-and-forth battles are on the horizon regardless.

“I’m just really getting started,” Williams said. “This is only the beginning for real, for real. I mean, if I can go ahead and get it over within a minute, in 30 seconds (or) 20 seconds, then why not? Down the line, I’m going to have those wars. But right now, if I can get it over with soon, why not?

UFC Fight Night 183 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/12/ufc-fight-night-183-khaos-williams-knockouts-content-wars-coming

Collin Huckbody certainly isn’t following a typical career path when it comes to competing in the UFC, but he believes it’s the right one for him to take.

“Young Huck” was awarded a UFC deal in August after picking up a first-round submission win over Kyron Bowen at Dana White’s Contender Series, but when it came time to schedule his octagon debut, Huckbody admitted something just didn’t feel right.

Ultimately, he and the promotion elected to part ways for the time being, and the 26-year-old middleweight was again a free agent.

“It was most definitely a difficult decision, but there’s a silver lining in it, and I think it will be the best decision for me at the end of the day when I look back and see supposed downfalls,” Huckbody said. “I think this will be one that I’ll understand.”

Huckbody’s reasoning was simple, even if not one you normally hear: Despite riding a five-fight winning streak that includes three consecutive submission wins, he just didn’t feel certain he was truly ready for the deep waters of the UFC.

“When I get to the UFC spot, I want to be ready for every single person they put in front of me, and I just need a little more time to develop my skills,” Huckbody admitted.

As Huckbody continues on his journey, he’s made wholesale changes around him. He said he parted ways with his former manager “because we had different visions of our future.” He also uprooted from a small team in Minnesota and relocated to The MMA Lab in Arizona.

“They’ve really been working with me, helping me believe in myself – in my standup, as well as my ground,” Huckbody said. “Now that I have a team around me that believes in me and puts a lot of effort into my progression as a martial artist, I feel like I’m training how a UFC fighter should train.

“I love my gym back at home. They showed me a lot of stuff on the ground, but in Minnesota, we need more striking work, so I’m happy to be out here in Arizona expanding my skills.”

Huckbody (8-2) gets a chance to show his progression on Thursday, when he headlines CFFC 90, which streams live on UFC Fight Pass from Lancaster County Convention Center in Lancaster, Penn. He’ll challenge for the vacant CFFC middleweight title when he takes on Alaska’s Aaron Phillips (5-1).

It’s a change in opponent from the man Huckbody was first supposed to face for the belt, fellow DWCS alum Anthony Adams. However, Huckbody said he isn’t concerned with the assignment.

“At the end of the day, every fight ahead of me is my most important fight,” Huckbody said. “I’m treating this very seriously, just as seriously as I’d treat a UFC fight. Every fight is crucial at this level, so I need to bring my game every single time.

“I’m just going to show up and do what I do. That’s kind of how I approach things. Maybe watch a little film on him. But for the most part, I’m just going to execute and show up on fight night.”

Where, exactly, a win puts him remains to be seen. After all, he just had a UFC contract in hand and admitted he wanted just a little more seasoning ahead of that octagon debut. But Huckbody says he has no expectations and is willing to go back on DWCS if that’s what the promotion wants.

“I’ve seen a lot of other successful UFC fighters have two runs at the Contender Series, too,” Huckbody said. “I wasn’t the only one that fought once, and unfortunately I did get the contract but didn’t get to fight, but it does give me confidence seeing how the UFC runs everything, and now, for me, it’s just about showing up and taking care of business and not really worrying about the bright lights.”

A CFFC title would certainly go a long way toward keeping his name top of mind with UFC matchmakers. He could certainly catch the eye of other top shows, as well. But Huckbody said that’s not really his concern right now. Instead, improving during this reset period is what matters most, and he’s convinced that it will be the right move for him long-term.

“I think this is the perfect opportunity to show my skills,” Huckbody said. “I think you’ll just see a lot smoother Collin Huckbody, a lot faster and more sure of himself, and obviously in great shape and ready to go.”

This story was first published at CFFC.tv.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/12/collin-huckbody-gave-up-ufc-debut-to-earn-way-back-to-ufc

UFC Fight Night 183 is down another fighter, but perhaps not another fight.

Rick Glenn is out of his lightweight preliminary card bout with Carlton Minus. MMA Junkie confirmed an initial report by reporter Al Zullino through sources with knowledge of the situation.

No official word was given for the withdrawal. Several planned bouts for the card have been scrapped, including the original headliner of Khamzat Chimaev vs. Leon Edwards, with both competitors testing positive for COVID-19.

Sources indicated the UFC is actively looking to find a short-notice replacement fighter for Glenn (21-6-1 MMA, 3-3 UFC) in order to keep Minus (10-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) on the card, which will be headlined by Stephen Thompson vs. Geoff Neal.

UFC Fight Night 183 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/12/ufc-fight-night-183-rick-glenn-carlton-minus-fight-off

Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno proved that the flyweight division is alive and well.

Flyweight champion Figueiredo (20-1-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC) and Moreno (18-5-2 MMA, 6-2-2 UFC) battled to a majority draw in the main event of UFC 256, which has been hailed as one of the best fights of the year. The draw ensured that Figueiredo retained his title by the slimmest of margins, but the two are expected to face off again in a rematch in 2021.

Both men stood in the middle of the octagon and traded, with big underdog Moreno showing incredible durability and toughness. Figueiredo was deducted a point for an inadvertent low blow, which effectively denied the Brazilian a victory, with to judges scoring the fight a draw, with one seeing it in Figueiredo’s favor.

Also featured in the super slow-motion UFC 256 “Fight Motion” highlights are Charles Oliveira’s masterful performance over Tony Ferguson, Kevin Holland’s incredible knockout of Ronaldo Souza, Ciryl Gane’s finish of Junior Dos Santos, and an array of stoppages from the prelims.

UFC 256 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2/ESPN+.

Check out UFC 256 “Fight Motion” in the video above.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/12/ufc-256-fight-motion-deiveson-figueiredo-brandon-moreno-put-on-fight-of-the-year-contender