The UFC is hoping the third time is the charm when it comes to a
middleweight booking pitting Phil Hawes
against Deron
Winn.
Hawes and Winn will lock horns at a UFC Fight Night event on June
18. Winn confirmed the pairing via Facebook
following an initial report from
MMAFighting.com. The card is expected to take place at the UFC
Apex in Las Vegas but does not currently have a headliner.
Hawes and Winn were scheduled to fight on two different occasions
in 2021, but both times Winn was forced to withdraw from the
proposed bouts.
The 33-year-old Hawes had a seven-bout winning streak snapped in
his last outing, when he suffered a first-round knockout loss to
Chris
Curtis at UFC 268 this past November. Hawes had kicked off his
promotional tenure with successive triumphs over Jacob
Malkoun, Nassourdine
Imavov and Kyle
Daukaus.
Winn is returning to action for the first time since December 2020,
when he defeated Antonio Arroya via unanimous decision at UFC Fight
Night 183. The American Kickboxing Academy representative is 2-2 in
the Octagon and 7-2 as a professional overall.