Christos Giagos steps in on short notice to face Carlton Minus at UFC Vegas 17

A new bout has been added to this Saturday’s card as Christos Giagos replaces Rick Glenn against Carlton Minus.

As reported on Wednesday, Rick Glenn has been forced to pull out from the card due to an allegedly positive COVID-19 test. No official statement from the promotion has been made yet.

Now, Christos Giagos (17-8 MMA; 3-4 UFC) has accepted to step in on three days’ notice to face the Alaskan Carlton Minus (10-2 MMA; 0-1 UFC), sources with knowledge of the situation told BJPENN.com. The sources asked for anonymity since the news hasn’t been officially confirmed yet.

This will be Minus’ sophomore clash in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, after he fell short in his promotional debut against Matthew Semelsberger. “Clutch” practically fought all of his professional mixed martial arts career in his backyard, in Alaska, competing in the local promotion Alaska Fighting Championship. He had a brief stint in the Professional Fighting League, as well, where he lost to former UFC welterweight, Rick Story.

Christos Giagos, on the other hand, accepted a 160-pound catchweight bout in order to step in on very short notice. “The Spartan” is on his second stint in the UFC. He had his first run from 2014 to 2015 and ended it with one victory and two losses. After that, the Greek-American athlete remained active fighting for local promotions such as Resurrection Fighting Alliance and Absolute Championship Berkut. He returned to the UFC in 2018 and he racked up two more wins and two more losses.

The welterweight scrap between Carlton Minus and Christos Giagos will take place Saturday, December 19 in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the UFC Apex facility. The event will be headlined by former UFC title contender Stephen Thompson who is willing to lock horns with No. 11-ranked Geoff Neal.