Phil Hawes and Chris Curtis will indeed get to throw down, but on a much bigger card.
After Curtis (26-8 MMA, 0-0 UFC) weighed in as a last-minute replacement for Deron Winn against Hawes (11-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 194 this past Friday, the bout was scrapped when Hawes reportedly declined the fight.
But the booking remained intact and will now take place at UFC 268 on Nov. 6 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Both fighters confirmed the booking on social media following an initial report from MMA DNA.
Curtis, a former CES champion, earned a third-round finish on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018, but wasn’t awarded a UFC contract. He went on to sign with PFL, where he amassed a 1-3 record in the promotion’s 2019 season. But since then, Curtis has won five in a row and finally will make his walk to the octagon in a tough promotional debut against Hawes.
Winner of his past seven, DWCS graduate Hawes is coming off back-to-back decision wins over Nassourdine Imavov in February and, most recently, Kyle Daukaus at UFC on ESPN 24 in May.
The latest UFC 268 lineup now includes:
- Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington – for welterweight title
- Rose Namajunas vs. Zhang Weili – for strawweight title
- Michael Chandler vs. Justin Gaethje
- Sean Strickland vs. TBA
- Frankie Edgar vs. Marlon Vera
- Bobby Green vs. Al Iaquinta
- Ian Garry vs. Jordan Williams
- Andreas Michailidis vs. Alex Pereira
- Nassourdine Imavov vs. Edmen Shahbazyan
- John Allan vs. Aleksa Camur
- Melsik Baghdasaryan vs. TJ Laramie
- Shane Burgos vs. Billy Quarantillo
- Ode Osbourne vs. CJ Vergara
- Chris Barnett vs. Gian Villante
- Chris Curtis vs. Phil Hawes