Las Vegas, NV — Alonzo Menifield found out that he’d be fighting Fabio Cherant at UFC 260 around the same time as the rest of us.
Menifield (9-2) was expected to face William Knight this weekend at the PPV card. A positive COVID-19 test scuttled that. But Cherant (7-1), a veteran of Dana White’s Contender Series and CES MMA, was willing to step up.
“It is what is is. That’s how I take it. I’m happy I got another opponent,” Menifield stated during Wednesday’s UFC 260 media day. As positive as Menifield sounded, he admitted that missing out on another fight week, another fight, was a worry. “I was nervous about that.”
It had happened before, when his fight with OSP last August was pushed back. With Cherant stepping up, “I’m happy, I really am.” Even if he heard the news shortly before his media appearance. “Today. I found out earlier. My coach called me. When he calls, it’s always bad news. He told me right away I had an opponent, an opportunity.”
“I guess we all found out at the same time,” Menifield added. His coach, in fact, had accepted the fight on his behalf. Not that knowing who the opponent was would have changed anything. “If he would have told me, I would have been like ‘it don’t matter. Let’s go.'”
Cherant has won his last three fights, after coming up short on the Contender Series in 2019. Menifield, who won his way into the UFC on the show, is 2-2 in the octagon to date, but has lost his last two appearances.
“I want to generate momentum, but I never like hype. I want to be known for skill,” Menifield said of the goal at UFC 260. “With that said, I feel like a complete MMA fighter.”
Alonzo Menifield faces Fabio Cherant at UFC 260 on Saturday, March 27 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. You can view his full media day scrum above.
