Phil Hawes jokes about COVID-19 with Michael Bisping after eking out UFC Fight Night 185 win

Phil Hawes would like a big opportunity coming out of UFC Fight Night 185 – and if that means someone contracting COVID-19 then so be it.

Hawes survived a third-round surge from Nassourdine Imavov to escape with a majority-decision win in their middleweight bout Saturday at the UFC Apex. In speaking about what he’d like next during his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping, Hawes expressed a desire to fill in for either Chris Weidman or Uriah Hall should one of them drop out of their UFC 261 fight April 24.

“I know Weidman and Uriah – what’s his name? – Hall, they’re having that thing,” Hawes said. “So hopefully, maybe someone gets COVID or something. Slide me up in there, whenever that is.”

In response, Bisping made light of the remark.

“Hoping people get COVID so you get a fight,” Bisping said with a laugh. “I like your style.”

Weidman’s already overcome a case of COVID-19.

Weidman, a former UFC middleweight champion, and Hall originally were booked to meet last week at UFC 258, but the fight was pushed back after Weidman tested positive for the coronavirus in January. In an interview with Submission Radio earlier this month, Weidman detailed the severity of his case of the disease responsible for nearly half-a-million deaths in the U.S.

“First couple of days definitely sucked pretty bad,” Weidman said. “For about three days I had a fever, body aches, bad headache, and it just kind of sucked. And then after that, I just kind of felt tired. I would get these headaches randomly. Yeah, so I had to take about two weeks off training, and now I feel good and getting back in shape. … “I also lost 12 pounds. I was eating soups and stuff. My appetite wasn’t that great, and I ended up losing 12 pounds throughout the process.”

Hawes, 32, a 2020 “Dana White’s Contender Series” alum, is on a six-fight winning streak and off to a 2-0 start with the UFC after Saturday night. He won his promotional debut last October with an 18-second knockout of Jacob Malkoun at UFC 254.