Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that Gillespie will face Brad Riddell at the UFC’s event on March 20. The NZ Herald was first to report the booking.
Gillespie makes his long-awaited return following a first-round knockout loss to Kevin Lee at UFC 244 in November 2019. Prior to that, “The Gift” had won his first 13 professional bouts, including a 6-0 start to his UFC career, which included five finishes.
The reason for Gillespie’s long absence was due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic since he resides in New York and training in the area was not easy to come by, a source told MMA Fighting.
Riddell is on an impressive six-fight winning streak as he faces a top-15 ranked fighter. Since making his promotional debut in October 2019, “Quake” is 3-0 in the UFC with wins over Jamie Mullarkey, Magomed Mustafaev and Alex da Silva.
The UFC’s March 20 event will be headlined by a middleweight matchup between Derek Brunson and Kevin Holland.
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