It’s turned out to be a game of middleweight musical chairs in the UFC today. Originally, Kevin Holland (20-5) was set to take on Jack Hermansson next weekend in the card’s headliner.
However, it was reported today that Holland tested positive for COVID-19. Thus, the UFC had to move in a different direction. Marvin Vettori was originally scheduled to fight at UFC 256 against Jacare Souza (26-8, 1 NC).
The promotion went to Vettori and asked him to substitute for Holland. After both fighters agreed, the UFC booked a new headliner for next weekend featuring Vettori and Hermansson. However, that left Souza and Holland without opponents.
Well, on tonight’s UFC Vegas 15 broadcast, the promotion announced that Holland will be fighting Jacare Souza at UFC 256. So in the end, Vettori and Holland just ended up swapping places to keep the fights together.
UFC 256’s new matchup
Kevin Holland is on the shortlist of guys who could make the claim that they are fighter of the year. Holland has won all four of his UFC fights in 2020. He’s looked sensational and he’s knocking on the door of the top 15.
A win at UFC 256 over Jacare would put him at 5-0 in 2020 while giving him the biggest win of his career in terms of name. The PPV will be the first time that we’ve seen Jacare since he lost a split decision to Jan Blachowicz last November.
Souza decided to move up to light heavyweight and had a competitive fight with the now champion. However, Souza decided that he wanted to move back down to the UFC‘s middleweight division.
At 40 years old, there’s no telling on how many fights Jacare has left. One thing is for sure and that is that he’s hungry to snap his two fight losing streak. Jacare only has one win in his last four and that was his knockout over Chris Weidman.