Ray Borg faces replacement opponent Kyler Phillips at UFC on ESPN 2

By MMA Fighting Newswire

MMAfighting.com

Just over two weeks out from his next fight, Ray Borg has a new opponent.

Per PhillyVoice, Borg (11-3) will fight the debuting Kyler Phillips (6-1) in a bantamweight bout at UFC on ESPN 2 after Borg’s originally scheduled opponent Liu Pingyuan was forced to withdraw due to injury. This will be Borg’s first fight at 135 pounds in the Octagon.

Borg was last seen challenging Demetrious Johnson for the UFC flyweight championship on Oct. 7, 2017, losing to “Mighty Mouse” by submission in the fifth round. Prior to that, Borg had won five of six fights and earned a unanimous decision win over Jussier Formiga to pave his way to a title shot.

The 25-year-old Arizona native has been out of action since the Johnson fight as he’s had to deal with his child’s illness and his own health issues.

Phillips was recently featured as a cast member on The Ultimate Fighter 27. He fell in the first round of that season’s tournament to eventual winner Brad Katona and then went 1-1 back on the regional circuit, most recently defeating Emeka Ifekandu via first-round KO at LFA 59.

Also reported by PhillyVoice, a middleweight bout between Kevin Holland (14-4) and Gerald Meerschaert (29-10) has been added to the card. Holland, a Philadelphia native, recently picked up his first UFC win with a third-round submission of John Phillips, while Meerschaert is coming off of a first-round submission loss to Jack Hermansson that dropped his UFC record to 4-2.

UFC on ESPN 2 takes place at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on March 30. The main card will air on ESPN.

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