Holland Willing to step up for Marvin Vettori bout

Kevin Holland has said he is set to step up for his UFC fight with Marvin Vettori, despite the last stepping into the fight cage three weeks ago.

Holland is set to make a 21-day turnaround after his loss to Derek Brunson when he returns to fight as a late replacement for Darren Till on 10 April with betoclock.com/pointsbet-promo-code giving fans chance to make their predictions with a promo code.

The 28-year-old Holland ties the record of Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 255 and UFC 256 for the shortest period for a turnaround bout in the history of UFC.

Nicknamed ‘Trailblazer’, Holland told Sky Sports, “I found out [about the fight] at the last second. I was in the shower when they hit me up and somebody said something about a fight. I got back in the shower and by the time I got out again, the fight was announced.”

“They gave it to me. I trained; I’m here, so it is what it is.

“This is my job, this is my career. They tell me I need to step up so this is what I’m going to do.”

Holland, who has achieved 17 of his 21 career wins by stoppage, was asked if he might have desired to take some rest following his defeat to Brunson. He answered: “Any time off? No. That’s for retired people. I’m here to work. I’m young, healthy, full of motivation, full of confidence. I’m a working man.”

Liverpool-born, Vettoriwith an MMA16-4-1 record and 6-2-1 UFC record will be looking to stretch his winning run to 5 fights on Saturday but Kevin Holland is aware that there will be pressure on Vettori to deliver.

He said, “Marvin has to do his main event. The pressure is on him. There is no pressure on me. The only pressure that is on me is the pressure that people try and put on me.”

“I used to get pressure when my report card was coming out and now I get pressure when they tell me my son’s report card is coming out.

“Marvin is a fighter. We’re all just fighters. I don’t think too much about these guys, to be honest with you. We just go out there and scrap.”

He also discussed the Vettoriplan, saying: “The thing about blueprints is if you build a building on the left, you try building that same building on the right, [but] things are going to be backward.”

And the Middleweight division fighter also said that he didn’t want to be Till’scustodian at all time, suggesting ‘The Gorilla’ “owes” him something when questioned about a possible fight between the two of them in the nearest future.

Fellow middleweight fighter Darren Till sustained a broken collarbone while training and that left Vettori without an opponent. Without hesitation, Holland offered to take him on and now he’ll fight in a second straight main event on Saturday. However, this fight isn’t about redeeming himself or proving any doubter or hater wrong after what occurred in his last outing.

Rather than sit back and sulk over the loss, Kevin Holland jumped at the opportunity to return to UFC action sooner rather than later when a chance presented itself at this weekend UFC Vegas 23.