More than two weeks have passed since the fight took place, and this much-anticipated UFC middleweight bout has now come to fruition.
In late July, the promotion scheduled a bout between Chris Curtis (31-11, 1 no kick) and Kevin Holland (26-11, 1 no kick) for its UFC 307 card on Oct. 5. Curtis was forced to pull out of the bout due to a foot injury that “The Action Man” revealed on Wednesday. Curtis broke his foot while sparring and also suffered a Lisfranc injury (a small ligament that is torn or damaged). As a result, Curtis will be out for several months and hopes to return in December. UFC has yet to announce a replacement opponent for Holland.
“I’m OK,” Curtis wrote. “I’ve got a little fracture in my left leg, but… [Caio
Borralho] I injured my knee at the end of the last round of my last sparring. The bigger problem is that I also have a Lisfranc injury, which means I won’t be able to walk without crutches for the next 4-5 weeks. This is unfortunate, but if it had been worse I might have needed surgery. So consider yourself lucky. Hopefully I’ll be OK in December. If not, see you next year. Thank you for your comments and concern.”
Curtis was looking to get a win after losing a five-round split decision to Brendan Allen in April. Prior to that setback, the veteran dominated Marc-Andre Barrio earlier in the year. With just two wins in his last six fights (a no-contest against Nassouddin Imavov in 2023 due to a clash of heads), Curtis was looking to turn things around after a three-fight win streak at UFC from 2021 to 2022.
“The Trailblazer” Holland returned to middleweight in June to end a two-fight losing streak and get the arm of Michal Oleksiejczuk back on track, putting two losses to Michael Page and Jack Della Maddalena behind him, albeit at different weight classes. Thus far, the Texan has had more success at 185 pounds than he has at welterweight, but he has spent more time in the upper division. Notably, he has competed aggressively since his debut in 2018, defeating such big names as Santiago Ponzinibbio, Ronald Souza, and Joaquin Buckley.
UFC 307, which has yet to feature a main event, will take place on October 5th at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Raquel Pennington is expected to defend her 135-pound belt against Julianna Peña, but that has yet to be confirmed; that bout will not be the main event. Other bouts on the card include a featherweight matchup between Movsar Evloev and Aljamain Sterling and a 115-pound bout between Marina Rodriguez and Iasmin Lucindo.
