Aaron Phillips is back in the UFC.
Almost six years after his promotional departure, Phillips (12-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) has stepped in on short notice to fight Jack Shore at the UFC’s “Fight Island” event on July 15. Phillips replaces Anderson dos Santos who was removed from the card on Friday after a positive COVID-19 test.
Two people with knowledge of the situation recently informed MMA Junkie of the replacement booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
After his two UFC losses in 2014 to Sam Sicilia and Matt Hobar, Phillips went 6-1 outside of the promotion. The 30-year-old’s only loss in that stretch was suffered at the hands of now-UFC fighter Chris Guttierez.
Former Cage Warriors bantamweight champion Shore (12-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) made his promotional debut at UFC on ESPN+ 18 in September, where he defeated Nohelin Hernandez by third-round rear-naked choke. The Welshman was then booked to fight Geraldo de Freitas in London in March. However, the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the removal, the current July 15 lineup includes:
- Calvin Kattar vs. Dan Ige
- Frankie Edgar vs. Pedro Munhoz
- Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Mounir Lazzez
- Chris Fishgold vs. Jared Gordon
- Modestas Bukauskas vs. TBA
- Molly McCann vs. Taila Santos
- Lerone Murphy vs. Ricardo Ramos
- John Phillips vs. Dusko Todorovic
- Ryan Benoit vs. Tim Elliott
- Diana Belbita vs. Liana Jojua
- Aaron Phillips vs. Jack Shore
Aaron Phillips set for UFC return, faces Jack Shore on 'Fight Island'
