Live from the APEX Center in Las Vegas comes UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Holland. The co-main event of this card features a lightweight division matchup as Gregor Gillespie (13-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) faces Brad Riddell (9-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC).
https://twitter.com/espn_ufc/status/1372121379470864387?s=01
Coming off of a first-round loss to Kevin Lee at UFC 244, Gillespie had his six-fight win streak snapped. Looking to get back on the winning end again, the Edinboro University wrestling standout faces the Christchurch, New Zealand native who holds a three-fight undefeated streak inside the Octagon. Gillespie is a current blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu while Riddell is one rank up, carrying a purple belt under Andre Galvao.
Gillespie won the 2007 NCAA Men’s National Championships at 149 lbs as a sophomore at Edinboro University. He also competed at 157 lbs while in his junior and senior years. Despite never wanting to fight, he ended up pursuing the sport of MMA anyway.
Riddell calls himself “Quake” in homage to a horrific earthquake that shook his hometown of Christchurch back in 2011. The natural disaster caused him to move to Auckland to pursue MMA and combat sports. Riddell competed in nearly 70 kickboxing bouts, winning 59 while competing in Europe and Asia.
Gillespie holds notable wins over Yancy Medeiros, Vinc Pichel, Jordan Rinaldi, Jason Gonzalez, and Andrew Holbrook. Riddell’s three wins come off the likes of Alex da Silva Coelho, Magomed Mustafaev, and Jamie Mullarkey.
UFC Fight Night will air on ESPN+ at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT
