Outside Source
“Trailblazer” will compete for the fourth time in 2025 when he faces Daniel Rodriguez on July 19 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. Rodriguez confirmed the booking on social media following an initial report from Kevin K. UFC 318 is headlined by Dustin Poirier’s farewell fight against Max Holloway.
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Holland and Rodriguez were initially slated to meet at UFC 279 in September 2022. However, after Khamzat Chimaev failed to make weight for a headlining clash with Nate Diaz, the card was reshuffled and Holland was tabbed to face Chimaev in a catchweight bout. Meanwhile, Diaz was matched with Tony Ferguson, and Rodriguez was paired with Jingliang Li.
Lost UFC 279 Bout Rebooked for New Orleans
Holland kicked off his 2025 campaign with a first-round submission loss to former ONE Championship two-division title holder Reinier de Ridder at UFC 311 before posting back-to-back triumphs over Gunnar Nelson and Vicente Luque. While the loss to de Ridder came at middleweight, Holland’s last two Octagon appearances have occurred at 170 pounds.
The 38-year-old Rodriguez will enter the matchup on a two-bout winning streak. After taking a split verdict over Alex Morono in October 2024, “D-Rod” scored a third-round technical knockout victory against Santiago Ponzinibbio in his most recent outing at UFC Des Moines on May 3.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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