A once-canceled bantamweight matchup between Brian Kelleher and Ricky Simon is in the works for a Jan. 16 UFC event.
Multiple people with knowledge of the booking told MMA Fighting verbal agreements are in place for the bout with contracts expected to follow shortly. The two originally were scheduled to meet at UFC Vegas 9 before a positive COVID-19 test from a Simon corner prompted his scratch from the event. Kelleher was rebooked against newcomer Ray Rodriguez and won in 39 seconds with a guillotine.
Simon’s most recent trip to the octagon came in May at UFC Jacksonville and ended in a split decision over one-time flyweight title challenger Ray Borg.