Photo by Chris Unger/DWCS LLC
Longtime veteran James Krause just earned some big-time favor with the UFC brass, agreeing to step in on just 24 hours notice to face Trevin Giles at UFC 247 tomorrow night (Sat., Feb. 8, 2020) inside Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
That’s because Antonio Arroyo was forced out of the Giles fight due to severe cramping as a result of his weight cut. Krause was in “H-Town” to corner his teammate, Youseff Zalal, who is set to make his official debut against Austin Lingo in the opening fight of the night.
After going through medicals, Krause weighed in at 183 pounds and even took part in the ceremonial weigh-ins (replay here) to face off against Giles. Krause — who competes at both Lightweight and Welterweight — is riding a six-fight win streak and will fight at 185 pounds for the first time in his career.
Everyone says they’re a gangster until it comes time to make gangster moves. 24 hours notice, at middleweight, against Trevin Giles. See you tomorrow, Houston @ Houston, Texas https://t.co/5fEF6tTN07
— James Krause (@TheJamesKrause) February 7, 2020
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TLDR) is expected to review the paperwork within the next few hours, Texas Combative Sports head Greg Alvarez told ESPN. Win, lose, or draw, Krause just won himself some fans with his bold move, which will see him collect an unexpected paycheck, and perhaps even a locker room bonus.
UFC 247 is set to be headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between division kingpin, Jon Jones, and No. 1 contender, Dominick Reyes. In the co-headlining act, women’s flyweight champion, Valentina Shevchenko, will face off against Katlyn Chookagian.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 247 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+/Fight Pass “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
For the rest of the UFC 247 fight card and line up click here.