While Kevin
Holland may be seeking a spot as a short-notice replacement
next month, he has something more official lined up for March.
According to
ESPN, Holland and Derek
Brunson have agreed to square off in the main event of a UFC
Fight Night card on March 20. The middleweight bout has not been
finalized but contracts are expected to be signed shortly. The
event does not yet have a location.
In the meantime, Holland has been campaigning for a spot opposite
Leon
Edwards on the UFC’s Jan. 20 “Fight Island” card. Edwards was
scheduled to face Khamzat
Chimaev, but Chimaev
withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reasons. Holland has yet
to fight at welterweight in the Las Vegas-based promotion.
Hold up, so am I hearing the
#ufcFightIsland hotel has a vacancy and needs a real man to
come and do work January 20th?
#callbigmouth pic.twitter.com/0zX4cPZMvo— Kevin Holland (@Trailblaze2top)
December 29, 2020
Holland was selected as Sherdog.com’s
”Breakthrough Fighter of the Year” after posting a 5-0 mark in
UFC competition this year. “Trailblazer” concluded that memorable
campaign with a first-round knockout of Ronaldo
Souza at UFC 256 on Dec. 12.
A veteran of 17 UFC bouts, Brunson enters the matchup with Holland
on a three-fight winning streak. After scoring back-to-back
decision triumphs against Elias
Theodorou and Ian
Heinisch in 2019, the North Carolina native defeated
highly-touted prospect Edmen
Shahbazyan by third-round TKO in the UFC Fight Night 172
headliner on Aug. 1.