Kevin Holland Tests Positive for COVID-19, Pulled from UFC on ESPN 19 Main Event

I have been pulled from my main event bout next weekend due to a positive pre fight covid test. Hoping to test clean and get back inside the cage ASAP. pic.twitter.com/KfMF4jQFQg

— Kevin Holland (@Trailblaze2top) November 28, 2020

Another UFC main event has been hit by COVID-19.

Kevin Holland is out of his UFC on ESPN 19 headlining clash against Jack Hermansson due to a positive test, the middleweight announced via social media on Saturday.

“I have been pulled from my main event bout next weekend due to a positive pre fight covid test,” Holland wrote. “Hoping to test clean and get back inside the cage ASAP.”

UFC on ESPN 19 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Dec. 5. According to a report from ESPN, the promotion is targeting Marvin Vettori as a replacement opponent for Hermansson in the headliner. Vettori is scheduled to face Ronaldo Souza at UFC 256 on Dec. 12.

Holland was attempting to go 5-0 in 2020 after agreeing to step in for Darren Till against Hermansson. Thus far, “Trailblazer” has earned victories over Anthony Hernandez, Joaquin Buckley, Darren Stewart and Charlie Ontiveros this year — with three of those those triumphs coming inside the distance.

Holland’s exit comes on the heels of the cancellation of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 18 main event, which occurred after heavyweight Curtis Blaydes tested positive for COVID-19 one day prior to the card.