Kevin Holland vs. 'Jacare' Souza added to UFC 256
Kevin Holland lost an upcoming main event slot due to a recent COVID-19 diagnosis, but he’s already got another fight lined up — and it will be one of the biggest names he’s ever faced.
He’ll now meet former Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo Souza at UFC 256 on Dec. 12. The UFC announced the bout during Saturday night’s UFC on ESPN 18 broadcast.
Holland (20-5 MMA, 9-2 UFC) was scheduled to meet Jack Hermansson in the main event of UFC on ESPN 19 on Dec. 5, but was pulled from the fight Saturday after word of his COVID diagnosis broke. Hermansson will now fight Marvin Vettori instead.
Holland is looking to go 5-0 in 2020. He has wins over Anthony Hernandez, Joaquin Buckley, Darren Stewart and Charlie Ontiveros, with three of those victories by finish.
Souza (26-8 UFC, 9-5 UFC) makes a long-awaited octagon return. He was scheduled to fight Uriah Hall at UFC 249, but the day before the show, he became the first UFC fighter to test positive for COVID-19 during the current era and withdrew. He’ll try to shake off a two-fight skid.
Souza was initially slated to fight Vettori at UFC 256 before Vettori was shuffled to the Hermansson fight.
UFC 256, which will be held at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, will be headlined by Deiveson Figueiredo’s flyweight title defense against Brandon Moreno, with both fighters competing on 21-day turnarounds.
