Jack Hermansson is getting a different look at UFC Vegas 16 as Kevin Holland steps in for Darren Till.
Hermansson (no. 4) was originally scheduled to fight Till (no. 6) on Dec. 5. Till was forced out with an injury and subsequently replaced by unranked Holland, according to ESPN's Brett Okamoto.
"Hermansson’s reps say they sought a ranked replacement, but several of them turned it down and Hermansson was determined to get one more fight in before end of the year," Okamoto noted in a follow-up tweet. "Holland looking to become the first middleweight in UFC history with five wins in a single calendar year."
Hermansson has won four of his last five fights by collecting the scalps of Kevin Gastelum, Ronaldo Souza, David Branch and Gerald Meerschaert. Holland has also won four of his last five fights with consecutive wins over Charles Ontiveros, Darren Stewart, Joaquin Buckley and Anthony Hernandez.
A short time after the story broke, Till would take to Twitter to wish both Hermansson and Holland well in their forthcoming battle:
Good luck to both guys.
— D (@darrentill2) November 6, 2020
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
UFC Vegas 16 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, Dec. 5. The ESPN+ card is headlined by Hermansson and Holland.
Fightful has all of your MMA needs covered. Follow us on Twitter for updates, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for exclusive interviews, lists, news updates and predictions.
