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After scrapped bout with Brad Riddell, Gregor Gillespie grateful to draw ranked Diego Ferreira

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LAS VEGAS – Perhaps there may have been a silver lining for Gregor Gillespie getting his bout canceled on fight day.

Gillespie, who hasn’t competed since suffering his first career loss to Kevin Lee in November 2019, was scheduled to return against Brad Riddell in March. But on the day of the fight, the UFC scrapped the bout due to COVID-19 protocols, and Gillespie’s highly anticipated return was delayed.

Though it was a tough pill to swallow for Gillespie (13-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC), who had done everything from training camp to making weight, he got a relatively quick turnaround and an even better opportunity in ranked lightweight Diego Ferreira (17-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) on Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 24 card.

“He’s ranked ahead of me; that was the requisite,” Gillespie told MMA Junkie at Wednesday’s media day at the UFC Apex. “I like that. I understand everybody in the top-15 is going to be a threat. I understand that everyone in the top-15 is there because they’re good. You don’t get a ranking without beating someone good. He’s beat good guys, he’s fought good opponents, and I thought it was a great opportunity.”

Gillespie isn’t looking to waste any time in his pursuit to climb the 155-pound ladder. The 34-year-old NCAA Division I national champion and four-time NCAA Division I All-American wants to pick up right where he left off before enduring his first-career loss, when he was one considered one of the division’s hottest prospects, tearing through competition.

“At this point, I’m 34 years old,” Gillespie said. “I’m not saying I’m ancient by any means. I still got a lot of hay in the barn, but I’m not getting younger. I think if there’s time to make a run at this thing, it’s now. I got the 12th-ranked guy, and hopefully things go well, and then I get ranked higher than that. That’s hopefully the plan. I’ve got to get past this one first, but I can’t imagine that if I beat Ferreira that I would fight someone ranked lower than him or outside of the rankings.”

UFC on ESPN 24 takes place at the UFC Apex. The night’s main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN+.

To see the full interview with Gillespie, check out the video above.

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