Sam Hughes recently told us she’d be willing to fight on short notice again. And the strawweight is living up to her word.
On Wednesday, MMA Fighting was first to report that Hughes will be stepping in to replace Hannah Cifers against Emily Whitmire on February 27. Hughes later confirmed the report on social media. The reason for Cifers’ withdrawal, meanwhile, has not been confirmed.
The UFC’s February 27 event, UFC Vegas 20, is expected to unfold at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Hughes (5-2) came up short in December in a short-notice debut against longtime divisional stalwart Tecia Torres. Last month, she told us that she would prefer a little more time to train for her sophomore outing — but she wouldn’t say no to a short-notice opportunity.
“I’m always game for a short notice fight. Depending on who the opponent is, yeah, no problem at all,” Hughes said. “I would hope they would be a little bit nicer to me, and give me six weeks. Four to six weeks is perfect, that’s all I need.”
It will be just under four in the end.
Whitmire (4-4) returned to the octagon last August, after over a year on the sidelines. She came up short against Polyana Viana, finding herself submitted by arm-bar.
UFC Vegas 20 currently consists of the following bouts:
Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Ciryl Gane
William Knight vs. Alonzo Menifield
Sabina Mazo vs. Alexis Davis
Raoni Barcelos vs. TBD
Alex Oliveira vs. Randy Brown
Alex Caceres vs. Kevin Croom
Magomed Ankalaev vs. Nikita Krylov
Montana De La Rosa vs. Mayra Bueno Silva
Alexander Hernandez vs. Thiago Moises
Vince Cachero vs. Ronnie Lawrence
Dustin Jacoby vs. Maxim Grishin
Marion Reneau vs. Macy Chiasson
Emily Whitmire vs. Sam Hughes
