Eric Spicely steps in to face Deron Winn at UFC Greensville

Highly touted middleweight prospect Deron Winn will still make his UFC debut this weekend after Eric Spicely agreed to step up and accept the fight on short notice at UFC Fight Night from Greenville, S.C.

Winn has undergone three opponent changes now — first losing Markus Perez and then Bruno Silva this past weekend before the UFC tapped Spicely as a replacement opponent.

Sources close to the situation confirmed the news on Monday following an initial report about the possibility of the fight from ESPN on Sunday.

A former “Ultimate Fighter” competitor, Spicely went 2-4 in his previous stint in the UFC including a submission win over current light heavyweight title contender Thiago Santos back in 2016. Spicely was released from the promotion following three straight losses but then bounced back with two consecutive wins including a TKO against fellow UFC veteran Caio Magalhaes in March.

Now Spicely will make his return to the UFC with a chance to pull off an upset when he faces Winn this weekend in a middleweight bout scheduled for the preliminary card.

A former college wrestler, Winn has close ties to UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, who took him under his wing when he made his transition into mixed martial arts.

Winn is currently 5-0 in his career including a victory over former UFC fighter Tom Lawlor in his most recent performance at the lone Golden Boy MMA card last year.