The middleweight divisional shuffle continues for the UFC ahead of its next pay-per-view event.
After Kevin Holland was pulled from his UFC Vegas 16 headliner opposite Jack Hermansson following a positive COVID-19 test, Marvin Vettori was moved from a UFC 256 matchup against Ronaldo Souza to his first main event opposite Hermansson.
With that, Holland has been pushed back one week and will now face Souza at the Dec. 12 event at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas. The promotion announced the change during Saturday’s UFC Vegas 15 broadcast.
Souza is set to make his 35th professional appearance in hopes of snapping a two-fight skid. After a third-round knockout win over Chris Weidman at UFC 230, “Jacare” has dropped back-to-back decisions to Jack Hermansson and current light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz. The 40-year-old was scheduled to face Uriah Hall at UFC 249 but was removed from the bout the night before the event after testing positive for COVID-19.
Holland looks to move to 5-0 in 2020 when he takes on a perennial 185-pound contender Hermansson. “Trailblazer” has earned finishes of Anthony Hernandez, Joaquin Buckley and Charlie Ontiveros, as well as a decision win over Darren Stewart during a breakout campaign for the Texas native.
UFC 256 is headlined by a flyweight title fight between champ Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno.
