The UFC 307 pay-per-view this fall has its latest confirmed fight, and it’ll see Chris Curtis defend his middleweight ranking against the always entertaining Kevin Holland.
While not confirmed, the promotion is expected to stage its October 5 numbered event in Salt Lake City, Utah. Should that come to fruition, Curtis and Holland will be among those taking to the cage in high altitude.
The middleweight bout was confirmed by Curtis’ management team, Iridium Sports Agency, on Monday. The announcement marks the second addition to the lineup, joining a crucial featherweight scrap between Movsar Evloev and Aljamain Sterling.
Holland Targets Second Straight Middleweight Win Against Ranked Curtis
When they throw down in a few months’ time, Curtis and Holland will be doing so off the back of different fortunes last time out.
The matchup marks a comeback from injury for Curtis (31-11, 1 NC), who played his part in a Fight of the Year contender opposite Brendan Allen earlier this year before tearing his hamstring in the closing moments of the five-round main event. While confident he deserved the nod and his second straight triumph months on from a win over Marc-André Barriault in Canada, two of the judges ultimately ruled the way of “All In.”
Having had his calls for a showdown with former title challenger Paulo Costa evidently fall on deaf ears, the #15-ranked middleweight contender will instead face Holland (26-11, 1 NC) at UFC 307.
“Trailblazer’s” year didn’t begin on the right foot as he fell out of the welterweight rankings owing to a setback against the debuting Michael “Venom” Page at UFC 299 in Miami. With that following a defeat to Jack Della Maddalena, Holland left his losing skid at 170 pounds and returned to the middleweight division on short notice at UFC 302 last month.
And “Big Mouth” bounced back emphatically in Newark, submitting the experienced Michał Oleksiejczuk with a gruesome armbar just over 90 seconds into their contest.
