With both men losing their opponents, Aaron Phillips and Trevin Jones now will square off with each other.
Phillips (12-4 MMA, 0-3 UFC) meets Jones (13-6 MMA, 1-0 UFC) at UFC on ESPN 27, which takes place July 24 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the targeted booking to MMA Junkie, but asked to remain anonymous since the UFC has yet to make an official announcement.
Phillips, who was originally scheduled to face Cameron Else, fell short in his return to the octagon when he was submitted by Jack Shore at UFC on ESPN 13 in July 2020. Prior to that, Phillips had won five in a row, including four by stoppage.
Unbeaten in his past four fights, Jones was scheduled to face Tony Kelley, who withdrew due to an undisclosed injury. After his comeback knockout win over Timur Valiev was overturned to a no contest due to a positive marijuana test, Jones picked up his first official UFC win when he stopped Mario Bautista in the second round at UFC 259 in March.
With the change, the UFC on ESPN 27 lineup includes:
- Cory Sandhagen vs. T.J. Dillashaw
- Brendan Allen vs. Puna Soriano
- Maycee Barber vs. Miranda Maverick
- Aspen Ladd vs. Macy Chiasson
- Kyler Phillips vs. Raulian Paiva
- Mickey Gall vs. Jordan Williams
- Randy Costa vs. Adrian Yanez
- Ian Heinisch vs. Nassourdine Imavov
- Julio Arce vs. Andre Ewell
- Darren Elkins vs. Darrick Minner
- Sijara Eubanks vs. Elise Reed
- Trevin Jones vs. Aaron Phillips
