UFC roundup: Kevin Holland gets quick turnaround vs. Gunnar Nelson
Kevin Holland will look to bounced back from his recent loss when he meets Gunnar Nelson at an upcoming UFC Fight Night event in London, England.
Kevin Holland isn’t wasting any time getting back to action after a first-round submission loss to Reinier De Ridder at UFC 311 in January in a middleweight contest..
The two-weight talent is set to face Gunnar Nelson in a featured welterweight bout at the upcoming March 22 UFC Fight Night event in London, England, the organization announced Wednesday.
Holland has been in the UFC since 2018 and has regularly competed in both the middleweight division at 185 pounds and the welterweight division at 170 pounds.
The 32-year-old has lost four of his past five overall, including a first-round technical knockout when he sustained a rib injury versus Roman Dolidze in October plus back-to-back losses to Michael “Venom” Page and Jack Della Maddalena that sandwiched a submission win over Michal Oleksiejczuk last summer. Holland holds notable victories over Anthony Hernandez, Joaquin Buckley and Gerald Meerschardt.
Nelson has won two in a row but hasn’t fought since submitting Bryan Barberena in March of 2023 and has only competed twice since 2019.
A five-round matchup between former welterweight champ Leon Edwards and Della Maddalena is scheduled to headline the event at The O2 Arena.
Vucenic, Duncan set to clash
The UFC also announced a lightweight bout between England’s Jordan Vucenic and Scotland’s Chris Duncan has been added to the March 22 card in London.
Vucenic, a former Cage Warriors standout, made a solid impression in his short-notice UFC debut in August of 2024 when he tested Guram Kutateladze in an entertaining unanimous decision loss.
The 28-year-old is 13-3 in MMA with six of his wins coming by submission.
Duncan is 3-1 in the UFC since earning a contract off the Contender Series in 2022 and is coming off a Performance of the Night-winning submission of Bolaji Oki in September.
Ruffy returns to face Green
Mauricio Ruffy has booked his toughest test so far in the UFC.
The touted rising lightweight star will face veteran Bobby “King” Green at UFC 313 on March 8, the organization announced Wednesday.
Ruffy, 28, is 11-1 as a pro and 2-0 so far in the UFC. His most recent appearance, a unanimous decision win over James Llontop at UFC 309 in November. It was the first time the Brazilian went the distance. All of his previous wins were via knockout or TKO.
Green, 38, is a veteran 50 pro fights and will be looking rebound from a one-sided stoppage loss to Paddy Pimblett at UFC 304 last July.
UFC 313 takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a light-heavyweight title fight between champion Alex Pereira and challenger Magomed Ankalaev, and features a five-round co-main event between Justin Gaethje and Dan Hooker.
