Deron Winn vs. Phil Hawes UFC fight canceled, nearly replaced by matchup involving coach

Deron Winn vs. Phil Hawes won't happen at UFC Vegas 39 as expected. Winn pulled out of the fight Friday, citing health reasons. From there, the fight nearly devolved into a completely different bout that included a coach.

With Winn out, Chris Curtis was called in as a last-minute replacement. Curtis — who has 34 fights under his belt — was set to make his UFC debut after making weight with only a day's notice, but Hawes wasn't on board with his new opponent.

Both original fighters backed out of the bout, leaving a hole in the event's schedule. That's when James Krause stepped in. Krause — who was only at the weigh-in because he's coaching Tim Elliott — volunteered to step on the scale and take on Curtis a day before the event.

The UFC reportedly considered the offer, but couldn't make the Curtis-Krause fight happen.

Though he would have been fighting on extremely short notice, Krause was up to the challenge. He told Brett Okamoto of ESPN, "I'm always game to make some money. S*** ain't s***."

Mackenzie Dern vs. Marina Rodriguez will headline UFC Vegas 39

The Hawes-Winn cancelation will leave a hole in UFC Vegas 39's schedule, but at least the main event is still on. Mackenzie Dern and Marina Rodriguez will headline the event, which will take place Saturday.

Dern is the -190 favorite at BetMGM after winning her last four fights. Our own Kevin Iole likes Dern to win the contest due to her ability to "score submissions from every position."