Kevin Holland plays musical chairs with Marvin Vettori, now faces Ronaldo Souza at UFC 256

With Jack Hermansson now fighting Marvin Vettori, Kevin Holland played musical chairs and will now face Ronaldo Souza at UFC 256 instead.

Holland was set to fight Hermansson in the main event of UFC Vegas 16 on December 5, but he was pulled this week from the bout after testing positive for COVID-19. The UFC then announced that Vettori would be pulled from his fight against Souza at UFC 256 on December 12 to fight Hermansson on short notice. That briefly left Souza without an opponent, but the UFC matchmakers took care of that quickly as Holland will now take on Souza at UFC 256 barring another positive test for COVID-19.

The UFC made it official during Saturday’s UFC Vegas 15 broadcast that Hermansson vs. Vettori will now be the five-round headliner for UFC Vegas 16, while Holland will take on Souza on the main pay-per-view card at UFC 256 the next weekend after.

UFC officially announced a middleweight switcheroo.

Jack Hermansson vs. Marvin Vettori headlines UFC Vegas 16 next week, and Jacare Souza now fights Kevin Holland at UFC 256.

— Adam Martin (@MMAdamMartin) November 29, 2020

For Holland, this represents a swift turnaround in the wake of his positive COVID-19 test. Although Holland is not the first fighter who has tested positive for COVID-19 in the last eight months, losing his first main event spot against Hermansson must have hurt. Thankfully, the UFC was able to take care of business quickly and book him in this fight against Souza. Although both Holland and Souza will now be facing opponents with completely different styles, it’s still a positive that both men will fight.

It should be noted that Souza also tested positive for COVID-19 all the way back in May. At the time, he was booked to fight Uriah Hall at UFC 249. However, he was pulled from the card after testing positive. Souza has since recovered from the illness, but he hasn’t fought since last November when he lost a split decision to Jan Blachowicz. Souza is a veteran of the sport and an all-time great middleweight, but Holland has been far more active lately and this is a risky fight for the 40-year-old.

Who do you think wins at UFC 256, Kevin Holland or Ronaldo Souza?