With Darren Till out of action due to a broken collarbone, Kevin Holland (21-6) has been given the green light to step in against Marvin Vettori (16-4-1) at UFC on ABC 2 later this month.
Word of Till’s injury broke just two days ago, with a devastated Till announcing the news on social media. Almost immediately, fellow middleweight Holland, fresh off a loss to Derek Brunson, offered to step up — and it seems that the pairing will go forward.
MMA Junkie was first to report the news, with multiple outlets confirming the booking. The UFC on ABC 2 card takes place Saturday, April 10 at the Apex in Las Vegas.
With Paulo Costa out, Till out, and Robert Whittaker fighting Kelvin Gastelum later this month, there were few options as to who would step in against Vettori. Holland, who has proven game for short-notice fights throughout his UFC career, may be coming off a loss — but he won five straight in 2020, gaining him a Fighter of the Year nod.
Italy’s Vettori had a stellar 2020 as well, winning bouts against Karl Roberson and Jack Hermansson, the later in the first UFC main event of Vettori’s career. He currently sits on a four-fight win streak.
With the change-up to the main event, UFC on ABC 2 now breaks down as follows:
Marvin Vettori vs. Kevin Holland
Arnold Allen vs. Sodiq Yusuff
Kyle Daukaus vs. Aliaskhab Khizriev
Sam Alvey vs. Julian Marquez
Nina Ansaroff vs. Mackenzie Dern
Mike Perry vs. Daniel Rodriguez
Jim Miller vs. Joe Solecki
Scott Holtzman vs. Mateusz Gamrot
Erin Blanchfield vs. Norma Dumont Viana
John Makdessi vs. Ignacio Bahamondes
Yorgan De Castro vs. Jarjis Danho
Hunter Azure vs. Jack Shore
Luis Saldana vs. Jordan Griffin
Da Un Jung vs. William Knight
Impa Kasanganay vs. Sasha Palatnikov
