Kevin Holland Returns to Middleweight in Late Addition to UFC 302 Fight Card

We're just a few weeks away from UFC 302 in New Jersey.

Mar 9, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Michael Page (blue gloves) fights Kevin Holland (red gloves). / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Kevin Holland will return to the middleweight division for the first time since 2021 for a huge matchup at UFC 302.

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Currently the UFC’s #15-ranked welterweight contender, Holland joined the UFC off of Dana White’s Contender Series as a middleweight but later dropped back down to the welterweight division and knocked out Alex Oliveira in 2022.

“Trailblazer” hasn’t been scheduled for a middleweight fight since 2021 but did meet Khamzat Chimaev in a 180 lbs. catchweight bout at UFC 279, and now the 31-year-old is set to return to 185 lbs. to face Michał Oleksiejczuk at UFC 302 on June 1.

Newark just keeps getting better 👏@Trailblaze2top vs Michal Oleksiejczuk has been added to #UFC302!#VisitNJ | @Visit_NJ pic.twitter.com/4GHJADdgWu

— UFC (@ufc) May 13, 2024

Set to take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, UFC 302 features a headlining matchup between reigning lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier as well as a co-main event between former middleweight king Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa.

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The short-notice fight between Holland and Oleksiejczuk is a strong addition to UFC 302 that will presumably round out the event’s main card, and “Hussar” seems eager to welcome Holland back to middleweight based on the Polish striker’s reaction to the fight news via Instagram.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Michał Oleksiejczuk (@michaloleksiejczukufc)

“Let’s go with it 🤯 Always ready to fight 🔥🔪"

- Michał Oleksiejczuk via Instagram

Oleksiejczuk will enter UFC 302 looking to rebound from a quick submission-loss to Michel Pereira that took place at UFC 299, while Holland is coming off back-to-back losses to Jack Della Maddalena and a debuting Michael “Venom” Page on the same night that Oleksiejczuk lost to Pereira.

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The full bout order for UFC 302 still hasn’t been finalized by the promotion, but with the addition of Holland vs. Oleksiejczuk the 13-fight card currently looks like this:

• Main Event: Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier – For the UFC Lightweight Championship
• Co-Main Event: Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa
• Jailton Almeida vs. Alexandr Romanov
• Randy Brown vs. Elizeu Zaleski
• Kevin Holland vs. Michał Oleksiejczuk
• Joselyne Edwards vs. Ailin Perez
• Mickey Gall vs. Bassil Hafez
• Grant Dawson vs. Joe Solecki
• Phil Rowe vs. Jake Matthews
• Roman Kopylov vs. César Almeida
• Niko Price vs. Alex Morono
• Tatsuro Taira vs. Joshua Van
• Nyamjargal Tumendemberel vs. André Lima

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