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UFC Suffers Another Major Setback as Kevin Holland Drops Out of Fight Night

ByRishabh Singh

Modified Nov 28, 2020 | 12:22 PM EST

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Just one day after COVID-19 deprived us of a UFC main event fight, it has claimed yet another victim. Once again it is one half of the UFC Fight Night main event next week, Kevin Holland, who has tested positive for COVID-19. Consequently, Holland is out of his scheduled fight with Jack Hermansson next weekend.

Ariel Helwani of ESPN first reported the news. This is the second occasion in twenty hours when Helwani has broken such unfortunate news. Yesterday, it was Curtis Blaydes who tested positive for coronavirus.

Kevin Holland is out of next weekend’s main event against Jack Hermansson due to a positive COVID test, per multiple sources.
Current plan is for Hermansson to now fight Marvin Vettori in the main event of next weekend’s show, sources say, though, no bout agreement issued yet.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 28, 2020

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The UFC is planning to keep Hermansson on the card. They are likely to book him against Marvin Vettori. Vettori was scheduled to fight Jacare Souza on December 12th. If Vettori comes up to fight Hermansson, that will probably leave Jacare in limbo.

Holland also confirmed the news via his social media. He wished for a speedy recovery so he can step inside the Octagon as quickly as possible.

I have been pulled from my main event bout next weekend due to a positive pre fight covid test. Hoping to test clean and get back inside the cage ASAP. pic.twitter.com/KfMF4jQFQg
— Kevin Holland (@Trailblaze2top) November 28, 2020

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Kevin Holland was a dark horse in the contender for ‘Fighter of the Year’

Holland had a highly successful run in the UFC so far in 2020. The unranked but surging UFC middleweight won four fights in that many outings this year. Holland started the year on a high note with a first-round TKO win over Anthony Hernandez in May.

He made a quick return to the Octagon in August against the current highlight sensation Joaquin Buckley. Holland got past Buckley via a third-round technical knockout that earned him a Performance of the Night honors. He extended his win streak for the year with performances against Darren Stewart and Charlie Ontiveros.

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Interestingly, he was himself a replacement for an injured Darren Till for the fight against Hermansson. The Swedish had a pretty similar run last year after he racked up wins over David Branch and Jacare Souza. However, Jared Cannonier defeated him to get ahead in the rankings.

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Hermansson bounced back from the loss with a quick submission win over Kelvin Gastelum. With a win over the originally planned opponent in Darren Till, Hermansson was eyeing to build another run at the title. Despite multiple changed opponents, the number 4 ranked UFC middleweight will look for a statement win next week.