Robert Whiteford expected to face Jimy Hettes at UFC Fight Night 30

The UFC needed a featherweight replacement for Mike Wilkinson on just about a week’s notice, and it got one.

Scottish featherweight Robert Whiteford (10-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is expected to step in for the injured Wilkinson (8-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) to face Jimy Hettes (10-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 30 this week.

MMAjunkie.com today learned from sources close to the fighter that Whiteford has verbally agreed to the contest and that bout agreements are expected to be finalized shortly.

UFC Fight Night 30 takes place Saturday at Phones 4U Arena in Manchester, England. The main card will air on FOX Sports 2 following prelims on MMAjunkie.com and Facebook. The Hettes-Whiteford fight is expected to be part of the prelims stream.

Whiteford lost his pro MMA debut in 2009 and hasn’t looked back. The Scot has won 10 straight since then, including five knockouts and a submission. Whiteford splits his training time between Scotland’s Dinky Ninjas Fight Team – a squad that regularly places fighters on England’s Cage Warriors Fighting Championship cards – and American Top Team. He has just one fight in 2013, a decision win over Paul Reed on a regional show in Scotland.

Hettes in September 2012 lost for the first time when he dropped a unanimous decision against Marcus Brimage at UFC 152 in Toronto. Prior to that, “The Kid” had started 10-0, including wins in his first two UFC fights – a submission win over Alex Caceres and a unanimous decision over Nam Phan, both in 2011. Hettes was scheduled to meet Steven Siler at UFC 159 in April in New Jersey, but was forced out with an injury.

Wilkinson, a lightweight cast member on the U.K. vs. Australia edition of “The Ultimate Fighter,” was looking to get back on track following a loss to Rony Jason at UFC on FUEL TV 10 in Brazil in June after winning his official UFC debut this past December at UFC on FX 6 in Australia. But the injury knocked him out of the fight just a little more than a week before the fight with Hettes.

With the change, the final UFC Fight Night 30 card now includes:

MAIN CARD (FOX Sports 2, 3 p.m. ET)

• Lyoto Machida vs. Mark Munoz
• Melvin Guillard vs. Ross Pearson
• Ryan Jimmo vs. Jimi Manuwa
• Norman Parke vs. Jon Tuck
• Nicholas Musoke vs. Alessio Sakara
• Phil Harris vs. John Lineker

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook, 11:45 a.m. ET)

• Piotr Hallmann vs. Al Iaquinta
• Luke Barnatt vs. Andrew Craig
• Jessica Andrade vs. Rosi Sexton
• Cole Miller vs. Andy Ogle
• Jimy Hettes vs. Robert Whiteford
• Michael Kuiper vs. Brad Scott

For more on UFC Fight Night 30, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Robert Whiteford)