REPORT | Kevin Holland set for welterweight return at UFC London against Gunnar Nelson

Kevin Holland will reportedly meet Gunnar Nelson at UFC London in March.

‘Trailblazer’ has had a rough last few years. While still one of the most entertaining strikers in the UFC, Kevin Holland has lost four of his last five fights. After suffering losses to Jack Della Maddalena and Michael Page, he decided on a return to 185 pounds. In his first bout back at middleweight last June, he scored a submission win over Michal Oleksiejczuk.

However, back-to-back losses to Roman Dolidze and Reinier de Ridder have Kevin Holland moving back down in weight. As first reported by Real Kevin K on X and later confirmed by MMA Junkie, ‘Trailblazer’ will be facing Gunnar Nelson in March. The two will meet on a UFC London card, set to be headlined by Leon Edwards vs. Jack Della Maddalena.

For his part, ‘Gunni’ has quietly been building momentum. He last appeared in the cage in March 2023, facing Bryan Barberena in London. There, Gunnar Nelson earned his second win in a row, scoring a first-round submission victory over ‘Bam Bam’. This March, he will look to move his winning streak to three against Kevin Holland.

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Image via: @trailblaze2top on Instagram

REPORT | Kevin Holland set to meet Gunnar Nelson in welterweight return at UFC London

As of now, the UFC London card is still being built out. However, there is a lot more booked than just Kevin Holland vs. Gunnar Nelson and Leon Edwards vs. Jack Della Maddalena. Slated for the co-main event is the return of former light-heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz. The Polish fighter hasn’t been seen since a split-decision loss to Alex Pereira in the summer of 2023.

At UFC London, Blachowicz will meet the rising Carlos Ulberg. ‘Black Jag’ enters the card riding a seven-fight winning streak, last beating Volkan Oezdemir in October. The winner of the light-heavyweight bout could easily be next for the winner of Alex Pereria vs. Magomed Ankalaev later this year.

Here’s how the rest of the UFC London card stacks up right now:

Welterweight (Main Event): Leon Edwards vs. Jack Della Maddalena

Light Heavyweight Bout: Jan Błachowicz vs. Carlos Ulberg

Welterweight Bout: Kevin Holland vs. Gunnar Nelson

Women’s Flyweight Bout: Molly McCann vs. Istela Nunes

Light Heavyweight Bout: Alonzo Menifield vs. Oumar Sy

Lightweight Bout: Jai Herbert vs. Chris Padilla

Heavyweight Bout: Marcin Tybura vs. Mick Parkin

Flyweight Bout: Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Felipe dos Santos

Middleweight Bout: Christian Leroy Duncan vs. Andrey Pulyaev

Women’s Strawweight Bout: Shauna Bannon vs. Puja Tomar

Featherweight Bout: Nathaniel Wood vs. Morgan Charrière

Bantamweight Bout: Nathan Fletcher vs. Caolán Loughran

What do you make of this UFC London fight announcement? Who do you got? Kevin Holland or Gunnar Nelson?