The Amway Center in Orlando, Florida will play host to this weekend's UFC event on Saturday, December 3, 2022. The card will be headlined by a welterweight bout between the resident "NMF" of the promotion, Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson, and part-time vigilante Kevin 'Trailblazer' Holland.
'Wonderboy' is coming off two consecutive losses to Gilbert Burns and Belal Muhammad, while Holland lost his last outing to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 279. 'Trailblazer' matched up with Chimaev in a last-minute card shuffle because of the Swedish-Chechen fighter's massive weight miss. Chimaev submitted Holland with a D'Arce choke in the first round.
Holland announced his retirement from the sport following the defeat, which he recently addressed during media sessions. He admitted that it stemmed out of frustration towards some "favoritism" shown by the company. He elaborated in terms of matchmaking as well as other aspects, like who gets to be on the UFC 4 game roster.
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Thompson currently ranks #6 in the welterweight division and is always within stone-throwing distance of a title shot, if not the immediate top contender. They have both made weight for Saturday night's event, with Thompson weighing in at 170 lbs and Holland tipping the scales at 170.5 lbs.
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Who else is fighting on UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Holland?
Rafael dos Anjos, who doesn't see himself going back to lightweight again, will face Bryan Barberena at 170 lbs as well.
The Brazilian is tired of the "top five little club" in lightweight fighting between each other and has decided to compete at welterweight for the foreseeable future. However, he is still chasing the Conor McGregor fight and doesn't believe the Irishman will compete at lightweight again. RDA is currently placed #7 in the lightweight rankings.
Middleweight contender Derek Brunson was supposed to fight Jack Hermansson on the card, but had to withdraw because of an injury. He was replaced by Roman Dolidze.
Fan-favorite Australian heavyweight Tai Tuivasa is facing Russian contender Sergei Pavlovich on the main card as well.
The prelims have veterans like Michael Johnson and Clay Guida fighting Marc Diakiese and Scott Holtzman respectively, while Angela Hill takes on Emily Ducote. Overall, the card has massive potential to become one of the more interesting Fight Night events of this year as the end draws near.
