Change of destination as Harris vs Lineker re booked for UFC Fight Night 30

Phil Harris vs John Lineker set to battle as UFC returns to England

by Ben Heather @benheather

The UFC have re booked a flyweight battle between Phil Harris (22-10 MMA 1-1 UFC) and John Lineker (22-6 MMA 3-1 UFC) which was originally booked for UFC 163 which took place this past weekend in Rio, Brazil. Unfortunately Phil Harris had to pull out of the original fight due to a facial injury. The injury happened just over two weeks before the fight when he got caught while sparring and fractured his orbital bone.

John Lineker still fought at UFC 163, defeating Jose Maria Tome by TKO in the second round. He looked very impressive in the fight but all of that good work was undone the day before when at weigh ins he weighed in at 129lbs. This was the second time in four UFC fights that Lineker has missed weight.

However, now the UFC has re booked the original match up except for one big change.... this time Phil Harris now has home field advantage. He will be fighting in England in front of potentially 21,000 British fans instead of walking in to the lion den in Brazil. Today Kingdom MMA caught up with Phil who told us what it meant to be fighting in England now.

"Having this fight in the UK and not Brazil puts the ball in my court, no flights, different time zones different food and of course the home crowd support will all go along way in helping me get the win!"

Also, Harris has already spent nearly a full camp preparing for John Lineker but didn't get to put that training in to action and now by the time UFC Fight Night 30 he will have had another full camp and will be very motivated to get in to the octagon and prove to the world that not only can he beat John Lineker but also that he will prove he is one of the best flyweights in the world.

"Training for this fight twice makes me want the win even more, I'm so excited for this fight, Lineker is coming off 3 wins and he's stopped his last two opponents so beating him will cement my place in the world top 10."

Tickets for the event go on sale to Fight Club members at 10am on Monday 12th August, on the 16th August for the UFC Newsletter Presale and 10am on 19th August the tickets go on general sale. Tickets are priced from £75-£450.

Stay tuned to Kingdom MMA for all the latest news regarding the UFC's return to England.