Surging middleweight contender Marvin Vettori (15-4-1 MMA) has agreed to replace Kevin Holland against Jack Hermansson at UFC Vegas 16.

Holland was expected to face ‘The Joker’ in the headliner of the December 5 event but was forced to pullout of the fight after contracting Covid-19 according to ESPN.

With that, Marvin Vettori has agreed to step in and fight Hermansson in what will be a five-round affair.

Marvin Vettori's personal trainer just confirmed both Vettori & Hermansson agreed for 5-round main event on December 5. pic.twitter.com/GUvC46GrTY

— Al Zullino (@phre) November 28, 2020

“Marvin Vettori’s personal trainer just confirmed both Vettori & Hermansson agreed for 5-round main event on December 5.” – shared @Phre of BJPenn.com.

‘The Italian Dream’ was last seen in action at June’s UFC Vegas 2 event where he scored a first round submission victory over Karl Roberson. That victory marked the Vettori’s third in a row, as he had previously scored unanimous decision victories over Andrew Sanchez and Cezar Ferreira.

Marvin Vettori’s lone loss in has past six Octagon appearances came via split-decision to reigning middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.

Meanwhile, Jack Hermansson (21-5 MMA) was most recently seen in action at July’s UFC Fight Island 2 event where he picked up a first round submission victory over Kelvin Gastelum. Prior to that impressive win, ‘The Joker’ was coming off a TKO loss to Jared Cannonier.

Marvin Vettori was originally slated to square off with Ronaldo ‘Jacare‘ Souza at UFC 256 on December 12. So the move to fight Hermansson is only costing him a week of training time.

The UFC has yet to confirm if a replacement opponent will be sought out for Souza for the December 12 event.

Who do you think will emerge victorious when Vettori and Hermanssion square off on December 5 at UFC Vegas 16? Share your thoughts in the comments section PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on November 28, 2020