Algeo-Quarantillo, Burns-Askhabov Become Algeo vs. Burns at UFC on ABC 3

A pair of injuries to Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters has forced an unplanned matchup up a division in a week.

On Thursday night, Bill Algeo (15-6) posted on his Instagram Stories that his opponent, Billy Quarantillo, had been forced out of their featherweight match. Per MMA Junkie shortly after Algeo’s post, the reason was reportedly due to injury. Additionally, Khusein Askhabov posted a photo of himself on Instagram still in Thailand with his brother, where he was wearing a sling on his arm. His bantamweight bout with Herbert Burns (11-3) was at risk of falling through as well, and according to MMA Fighting, Burns will no longer be facing Askhabov.

Algeo announced on his OnlyFans page that he will be squaring off with Burns at this event on July 16. The fight card, titled UFC on ABC 3, will go on at the UBS Arena in Long Island, N.Y. Their clash has been changed to a featherweight matchup in Algeo’s initial weight class, and Burns will not have to cut weight down to 135 pounds.

“Senor Perfecto” has alternated wins and losses in his last seven, which includes the entirety of his UFC run plus his 2019 appearance on Dana White's Contender Series. Although he lost on DWCS, a win over Tim Dooling a year later prompted his short-notice signing against Ricardo Lamas about two weeks later. Win or lose, the last six outings for Algeo have ended by decision.

Burns, a fighter that missed weight by nearly four pounds in his last time out, is making his return to the cage after nearly two years away. In that last fight, a second-round knockout to Daniel Pineda, Burns had a five-fight finish streak snapped. “The Blaze” worked his way to the UFC ranks with a pair of decent performances at Titan Fighting Championships, and his own victory at the same season of DWCS as Algeo prompted his signing. Before that loss to Pineda, Burns had clobbered Nate Landwehr with a knee and tapped Evan Dunham in 80 seconds, although the latter came at 150 pounds.

UFC on ABC 3 goes down at the UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y., with a featherweight headliner on tap between Brian Ortega and Yair Rodriguez. The co-headlining spot goes to strawweights when Michelle Waterson takes on Amanda Lemos. Additional bouts featured on the main card include a welterweight contest pitting Jingliang Li against Muslim Salikhov, a pivotal flyweight affair when Matt Schnell meets Su Mudaerji and a sure-fire banger at 145 pounds as Shane Burgos takes on Charles Jourdain.