The two action fighters will clash in October in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
The organization has added Chris Curtis (31-11, 1 no kick) vs. Kevin Holland (26-11, 1 no kick) to the schedule for UFC 307 on Oct. 5. The announcement was made Monday by Curtis’ management team, Iridium Sports Agency. The two former welterweights, who have been fighting in the same circles for many years, will finally face off. The bout will likely take place at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, though the location has not been made official. The middleweight matchup was later confirmed by Holland on social media.
“The Action Man” has two split decision wins leading up to this anticipated trip to the main card: a win over Marc-Andre Barrio in January and a fifth-round loss to Brendan Allen in April. The well-traveled Curtis had successful promotional debuts in 2021 and 2022 with wins over Phil Hawes, Allen and Rodolfo Vieira, but has struggled since then, going just two wins in six fights. His only other win since then came when he stopped Joaquin Buckley with strikes in the second round at UFC 282.
The Texas native has bounced around between weight classes with alternating success. “The Trailblazer” faced Khamzat Chimaev on short notice at UFC 279, then dropped nearly 10 pounds to face the rebooked “Bolz” with only hours of preparation. Since then, he’s fallen short against big names like Stephen Thompson and Michael Page, but has more recent wins over the likes of Santiago Ponzinibbio and Michal Oleksiejczuk.
UFC 307 is expected to take place at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, but no main event is currently scheduled. The women’s bantamweight title is rumored to take place on October 5, when Raquel Pennington will defend her title against Julianna Peña. Other bouts already scheduled include Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling at featherweight, Marina Rodriguez vs. Iasmin Lucindo at strawweight, and Cesar Almeida vs. Igor Potieria at middleweight.
