Ricky Simon’s callout paid off, and his fight against Brian Kelleher is back on — for UFC 258.
Simon (17-3) and Kelleher (22-11) were originally set to face off last September. However, one of Simon’s corners tested positive for COVID-19, forcing him out of the fight. Kelleher wound up fighting Ray Rodriguez, earning a submission win, and the fight with Simon was rescheduled for UFC Fight Island 7 earlier this month.
This time, it was Kelleher forced to pull out of the UFC’s “season opener,” after he tested positive for COVID-19. Simon wound up defeating Gaetano Pirrello by submission — and post-fight, made a fun call out of Kelleher. “I’m on a quest to send Boom Boom Baggins back to the Shire,” Simon said in his post-fight interview. “Brian Kelleher, Simon says business is booming!”
Bloody Canvas was first to report news of the bout being booked for the third time.
Vancouver, Washington’s Simon will enter the fight on a two-fight win streak, having defeated Ray Borg prior to his win over Pirrello. Kelleher, for his part, has won three of his last four, with only a loss to Cody Stamann marring his record in that stretch.
UFC 258 takes place Saturday, February 13 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The following fights have been reported for the event thus far:
Kamaru Usman (c) vs. Gilbert Burns – for the UFC welterweight championship
Maycee Barber vs. Alexa Grasso
Polyana Viana vs. Mallory Martin
Gabriel Green vs. Philip Rowe
Julian Marquez vs. Maki Pitolo
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Ian Heinisch
Rodolfo Vieira vs. Anthony Hernandez
Pedro Munhoz vs. Jimmie Rivera
Dhiego Lima vs. Belal Muhammad
Gillian Robertson vs. Miranda Maverick
Brian Kelleher vs. Ricky Simon
