Kevin
Holland will get his chance to go 5-0 in 2020 after all.
After being removed from next weekend’s UFC on ESPN 19 main event
due to a positive COVID-19 test, Holland will square off against
Ronaldo
Souza at UFC 256. The pairing was announced during the UFC on
ESPN 18 broadcast Saturday night.
UFC 256 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Dec. 12 and is
headlined by a flyweight championship tilt pitting Deiveson
Figueiredo against Brandon
Moreno. “Jacare” was originally supposed to face Marvin
Vettori, but Vettori was tabbed to step in for Holland against
Jack
Hermansson at UFC on ESPN 19.
So far this year, Holland has earned victories against Anthony
Hernandez, Joaquin
Buckley, Darren
Stewart and Charlie
Ontiveros — with three of those wins coming inside the
distance. “Trailblazer” is 7-2 during his promotional tenure and
20-5 as a professional overall.
Souza, meanwhile, will return to 185 pounds after losing a split
decision to Jan
Blachowicz in a one-bout stint at light heavyweight at UFC
Fight Night 164 in November 2019. The former Strikeforce
middleweight champion has losts four of his last six promotional
outings.