Phil Hawes walked back a remark in which he wished one of his fellow UFC middleweights would contract COVID-19 for his potential benefit. Hawes survived a third-round surge from Nassourdine Imavov to escape with a majority-decision win in their middleweight bout Saturday at UFC Fight Night 185 in Las Vegas. In speaking about what he’d like next during his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping, Hawes expressed a desire to fill in for either Chris Weidman or Uriah Hall should one of them drop out of their UFC 261 fight on April 24. “I know Weidman and Uriah – what’s his name? – Hall, they’re having that thing,” Hawes said.