Surging UFC middleweight Kevin Holland will be replacing an injured Darren Till in the main event against Jack Hermansson on December 5.
One of the breakout UFC stars of 2020 will look to secure his biggest victory to date as Kevin Holland will replace an injured Darren Till in the main event against Jack Hermansson on December 5. Brett Okamoto of ESPN was first to report the news. Holland will look to be the first fighter in the modern era to win five fights in a calendar year in the UFC while Hermansson will be looking to keep his place in the title picture.
Good luck to both guys.
I’ll be back next year.
I hope Kevin gets to showcase himself against one of the top guys of the division… he’s as game as they come ! https://t.co/slRehp4KjO— D (@darrentill2) November 6, 2020
Kevin “Trailblazer” Holland (20-5) has proven to be one of the best talents to have been discovered in the short history of the Dana White’s Contender Series. Since being signed from the show in 2018, Holland has already amassed a 7-2 record in the two years he’s been in the UFC. He’s no stranger to a busy schedule, but his 2020 campaign has been ambitious to say the least. Holland has fought four times since May, including rescheduling a fight after his bout with Trevin Giles was scrapped minutes before walking out. After his victory over late replacement Charlie Ontiveros last week, Holland called to fill in against Mike Perry but instead has a chance to immediately jump to the top of the middleweight rankings against Hermansson.
Jack “The Joker” Hermansson (21-5) has been knocking on the door of title contention since last year and a victory over 2020’s surging upstart could propel him to a high profile matchup in 2021. A veteran of the UFC since 2016, the Swedish contender has notched victories over the likes of Thales Leites, Gerald Meerschart, and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. In July, he had his biggest victory of his career with a first round submission of former title challenger Kelvin Gastelum. The fight with Till had high stakes as many thought the winner could be thrust into a title shot against Israel Adesanya. As such, a victory here could still move Hermansson (or Holland) forward as the division waits to see what happens with the middleweight title in Adesanya’s absence.
