Eddie Wineland steps back into the Octagon this July at UFC Fight Night Boise and the former WEC Bantamweight Champion takes on Alejandro Perez at that event.
The bantamweight contender hasn’t competed in quite awhile, but a little known neck surgery has kept him out of action.
“No, little known fact, I had neck surgery last July. Not wanting to take time off, but forced to take time off. I’m itching to get back in their, I don’t like taking year layoffs. I know its happened a few times in my career, gotta get it (neck) fixed and get it done. I should be back better than ever,” says Wineland in an exclusive interview with Fightful’s James Lynch.
This is the longest layoff Wineland has had in his professional MMA career, as the fighter hasn’t competed since a loss to John Dodson at UFC Fight Night 108 in April of 2017.
A long layoff like the one Wineland just went through makes the fighter want to compete more every year, like three to four times a year.
“Sure, I would like to fight in July and possible again this year. I’d like to get another fight in this year, I always want to try to fight three to four times a year, which its been two times a year for how many years now? Not by choice, sometimes by injury and life happens outside of the fight game. Things going on and things happening, surgeries and this and that. So I’d like to stay a little bit more busy than I have been in the last few years, at least until I can’t do it anymore,” says Wineland.
UFC Fight Night Boise takes place on Saturday, July 14 from the Century Bank Arena in Boise, Idaho with Junior Dos Santos and Blagoy Ivanov headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on Fox Sports 1.
