Opposites collide as Kevin Holland will meet fellow middleweight Kyle Daukaus at a UFC Fight Night event on October 2.
A source with knowledge of the match-up confirmed the booking to Cageside Press, speaking of condition of anonymity. The bout was first reported by MMA Fighting.
The location and venue for the UFC’s October 2 event is yet-to-be-announced.
Holland (21-7) started 2021 off slowly with back-to-back decision losses to Derek Brunson and Marvin Vettori in the span of three weeks. After going 5-2 in under a year’s time, “Trailblazer” is taking six months off between fights.
The proven striker is focusing on his wrestling and takedown defense, even working with Daniel Cormier at the American Kickboxing Academy [AKA] in California. Holland, who has 12 of his 21 wins coming by TKO/knockout, will face a jiu-jitsu black belt in October.
Daukaus (10-2) is coming off his second UFC loss, a unanimous decision defeat to Phil Hawes at UFC on ESPN 24 in May. A Dana White’s Contender Series alumnus, Daukaus picked up his first octagon victory by beating Dustin Stoltzfus via unanimous decision at UFC 255 last November.
That win came after dropping a decision to Bendan Allen in his UFC debut at UFC on ESPN 12 in June 2020, a fight he accepted on short notice. The 28-year-old brings an extensive ground game to the cage with eight of his 10 victories coming by submission.
With the addition of this middleweight bout, the UFC Fight Night card on Oct. 2 includes:
- Thiago Santos vs. Johnny Walker
- Grant Dawson vs. Diego Ferreira
- Jared Gordon vs. Joe Solecki
- Bethe Correia vs. Karol Rosa
- Fernando Padilla vs. Sean Soriano
- Douglas Silva de Andrade vs. Gaetano Pirrello
- Kyle Daukaus vs. Kevin Holland
