UFC middleweight Kevin Holland agrees — he blew it three weeks ago in Las Vegas. It was his first appearance in a UFC main event, and he lost nearly every round to Derek Brunson.
Holland (21-6) believes he blew it because, in his mind, he’s a much better martial artist than Brunson. Others thought he blew it because even as he lost, he continued to talk trash, which simply wasn’t a good look. UFC president Dana White definitely thought Holland blew it, and he had no problem saying as much in public interviews.
Well, the 28-year-old Holland didn’t have to wait long for a chance to put all of that behind him, as he’ll face Marvin Vettori (16-3-1) in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night main event at the Apex. Holland agreed to step in on short notice for Darren Till, who withdrew last week with a broken collarbone.
If Holland is to redeem himself, it won’t be easy against Vettori, who has won four in a row, including a five-round decision over Jack Hermansson in December. The 27-year-old’s last loss was to the current champ, Israel Adesanya, by split decision back in 2018.
In addition to the main event, UFC strawweight Nina Nunes returns for the first time since giving birth to her daughter and will face Mackenzie Dern, who is also a mother. And a pair of very promising featherweight prospects in Sodiq Yusuff and Arnold Allen will square off in the co-main event.
Brett Okamoto and Marc Raimondi recap the action as it happens, or you can watch the fights here.
Fight in progress:
Welterweight: Impa Kasanganay (8-1, 1-1 UFC, -300) vs. Sasha Palatnikov (6-2, 1-0 UFC, +240)
Still to come:
Middleweight: Marvin Vettori (16-4-1, 6-2-1 UFC, -330) vs. Kevin Holland (21-6, 8-3 UFC, +260)
Men’s featherweight: Sodiq Yusuff (11-1, 4-0 UFC, -150) vs. Arnold Allen (16-1, 7-0 UFC, +125)
Middleweight: Sam Alvey (33-14-1, 10-9-1 UFC, +160) vs. Julian Marquez (8-2, 2-1 UFC, -190)
Strawweight: Nina Nunes (10-6, 4-3 UFC, -140) vs. Mackenzie Dern (10-1, 5-1 UFC, +120)
Welterweight: Mike Perry (14-7, 7-7 UFC, +125) vs. Daniel Rodriguez (13-2, 3-1 UFC, -150)
Lightweight: Jim Miller (32-15 1 NC, 23-13 1 NC UFC, +200) vs. Joe Solecki (10-2, 2-0 UFC, -240)
Lightweight: Scott Holtzman (14-4, 7-4 UFC, +200) vs. Mateusz Gamrot (17-1, 0-1 UFC, -240)
Lightweight: John Makdessi (17-7, 10-7 UFC, +160) vs. Ignacio Bahamondes (11-3, 0-0 UFC, -190)
Heavyweight: Yorgan De Castro (6-2, 1-2 UFC, -300) vs. Jarjis Danho (6-1-1, 0-1-1 UFC, +240)
Men’s bantamweight: Hunter Azure (9-1, 2-1 UFC, +145) vs. Jack Shore (13-0, 2-0 UFC, -170)
Men’s featherweight: Luis Saldana (14-6, 0-0 UFC, -140) vs. Jordan Griffin (18-8, 1-3 UFC, +120)
Light heavyweight: Da Un Jung (13-2-1, 2-0-1 UFC, -135) vs. William Knight (9-1, 1-0 UFC, +115)