Costa Philippou
Middleweights battle in Australia
A middleweight fight featuring a former winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” has been added to the UFC’s return to Australia in March.
TUF 11 winner Court McGee will fight Constantinos Philippou at UFC on FX: Alves vs. Kampmann in March. The UFC announced the matchup late Tuesday, saying verbal agreements are in place for the fight
McGee (13-1, 3-0 UFC) is unbeaten in his UFC career, including his debut at the TUF 11 Finale, a second-round submission win over Kris McCray. He followed that up with an arm triangle choke victory over Ryan Jensen at UFC 121. Then, after nearly a year off, he beat Dongi Yang by unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 25 in September.
Philippou (9-2, 1 NC, 2-1 UFC) lost his UFC debut in March, a short-notice catch weight fight against Nick Catone. But the Matt Serra/Ray Longo student has rebounded for two straight wins – a split decision over Jorge Rivera, then a first-round knockout of Jared Hamman at UFC 140 earlier this month.
The UFC’s second event on the FX cable channel will take place March 3 at the Allphones Arena in Sydney, though the time difference means the broadcast will air Friday night in the United States. The card features a main event welterweight bout between former title challenger Thiago Alves and Martin Kampmann, plus the two semifinal bouts of the UFC’s flyweight tournament.