Kevin Holland has tested positive for COVID-19 and been pulled from his main event fight opposite Jack Hermansson which was supposed to take place on December 5.
Holland initially received the call to face off against the #4 ranked middleweight contender Hermansson after Darren Till fell out due to injury.
Veteran MMA reporter Ariel Helwani broke the bad news on social media and also announced that Marvin Vettori is likely to step up and face Hermansson next weekend.
“Kevin Holland is out of next weekend’s main event against Jack Hermansson due to a positive COVID test, per multiple sources,” Helwani wrote. “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. Vettori was slated to fight Jacare Souza at UFC 256 on 12/12. No word just yet on what this means for Souza.”
Just moments later Holland took to Twitter to confirm the report and announce his intention to return to the Octagon as soon as possible, he wrote.
“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.”
Holland was set to compete in his fifth UFC bout of 2020. ‘Trailblazer’ is currently 4-0 for the calendar year and had hoped l to secure a middleweight ranking after stepping up on late notice.
Hermansson got back to winning ways last time out with a quick submission victory over Kelvin Gastelum. Before that, he was knocked out by Jared Cannonier. The former Cage Warriors champion holds several high profile wins over the likes over Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza, David Branch and Thales Leites.
Are you disappointed to hear Kevin Holland vs. Jack Hermansson if off?