A trio of bouts, including two previously scheduled bouts that have now been re-booked, have been added to the UFC’s return to Manchester for UFC Fight Night 30 in October.
John Lineker (22-6, 3-1 UFC) will meet Phil Harris (22-10 1 NC, 1-1 UFC) in a flyweight bout, Jimi Manuwa (13-0, 2-0 UFC) will take on Ryan Jimmo (18-2, 2-1 UFC) in a light heavyweight barnburner, and Paul Taylor (11-6-1 1 NC, 4-5 UFC) returns from a long layoff to battle Anthony Njokuani (16-7 1 NC, 3-3 UFC) in a lightweight slugfest.
UFC officials announced the Lineker vs. Harris bout on Twitter, while MMAFighting.com reported the Manuwa vs. Jimmo bout, and Sherdog reported the Taylor vs. Njokuani booking.
Lineker and Harris were set to meet at this past weekend’s UFC 163 event, but Harris was forced out due to injury. Lineker defeated Jose Maria to extend his win streak to three straight, though he missed weight for the bout. The UFC quickly re-booked the original fight as Lineker looks to secure a title shot with another win, while Harris looks to record his second straight win.
Manuwa is looking to remain undefeated in his career as he enters the Octagon for the third time. He has defeated Cyrille Diabate and Kyle Kingsbury during his two fights with the UFC. Meanwhile, Jimmo got back into the win column when he defeated Igor Pokrajac at UFC 161. He fought at the UFC’s last event in London, but it saw the end of his 17-fight win streak when he was defeated by James Te Huna.
Taylor and Njokuani were slated to meet at UFC 138 in November 2011, but Taylor was injured in a car crash just days before the event, which prompted the cancellation of their bout. Taylor has been out of action since then, and hasn’t fought since a knockout win over Gabe Ruediger at UFC 126 in February 2011. Njokuani is looking for his first win streak of his UFC career after knocking out Roger Bowling at UFC On FOX 7 in April.
UFC Fight Night 30 takes place from the MEN Arena in Manchester, England. Michael Bisping and Mark Munoz will headline the the fight card, which airs on FOX Sports 2.
