Charlie Ontiveros Steps In Against Kevin Holland at UFC Fight Night 181

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Assalom Aleykum xayrli kun barchaga! Afsuski, sizlarga noxush xabarni yetkazishimga to’g’ri kelmoqda. 31 oktyabrdagi jangim bekor qilindi, chunki COVID19 ga topshirgan testim ijobiy natijani ko’rsatdi. Hammasi Qodir Ollohning irodasi bilan! Alhamdulillah har qanday vaziyatda qo'llab-quvvatlaganingiz uchun barchangizga rahmat O'zingiz va yaqinlaringizni asrang. ——————————————————————————— Ассаламу Алейкум добрый день всем! К сожалению должен вам сообщить плохую новость. Мой бой 31 октября отменён ,так как у меня положительный тест на COVID19. Все по воле Всевышнего! Альхамдулиллах в любом положении спасибо вам всем за вашу поддержку Берегите себя и своих близких. ——————————————————————————— Good day ! Unfortunately I have some bad news to tell you. My fight on October 31 was canceled because I tested positive for COVID19. All by the will of the Almighty! thank you all for your support Take care of yourself and your loved ones I would like to separately thank UFC and @mickmaynard2 for their help and support @trailblaze2top good luck to you fight ——————————————————————————- Zdravím všechny! Bohužel vám musím vám říct špatnou zprávu. Můj zapas 31. října byl zrušen, jsem měl pozitivní test na COVID19. děkuji vám všem za vaši podporu moc toho vážím Víc vám řeknu během par dnů děkuji za pochopení. —————————————————————————- #ufc #cancel #cancelfight #alhamdulillah

A post shared by Makhmud “Mach” Muradov (@makhmud_muradov) on Oct 28, 2020 at 10:06pm PDT

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Kevin Holland is still on track to have three Ultimate Fighting Championship fights in three months, no matter what.

Late Wednesday night, MMA Fighting first reported that Holland (19-5) will no longer be facing Makhmud Muradov (24-6) at UFC Fight Night 181 on Saturday. Muradov’s removal was due to a positive COVID-19 test, the fighter announced this on Instagram shortly after the report came out. In Muradov’s stead will be newcomer Charlie Ontiveros (11-6), who will be stepping up a weight class to face Holland at middleweight on just a few days’ notice.

Ontiveros was previously tapped once before to step in and make his UFC debut in July, when he was planning on replacing Eric Spicely against Markus Perez. Ontiveros was not cleared for competition in time, so Perez had to wait several more months to compete. The former Fury Fighting Championship competitor will step into the Octagon on the heels of two first-round knockouts in 2019. Each of Ontiveros’ appearances as a pro have come with Fury FC, Legacy Fighting Championship, Legacy Fighting Alliance or Bellator MMA, with the latter an ill-fated meeting with Michael Page in 2015.

Holland is looking for his fourth win in 2020, as he has racked up victories over Anthony Hernandez, Joaquin Buckley and Darren Stewart since May. The middleweight kickboxer with a 79 percent finish rate has his sights set on a prospective matchup against Mike Perry, as the welterweight brawler recently lost his high-stakes bout with Robbie Lawler. This will be Holland’s 12th bout since the beginning of 2018, and his ninth inside the Octagon since his signing on Dana White's Contender Series.

While Holland has been active even during the pandemic, Muradov has been completely out of action this year for a variety of reasons. When a bout in March with Antonio Carlos Jr. nixed when the Brazilian suffered an injury, Muradov tries to make a quick turnaround against Karl Roberson – but that event was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Muradov was originally slated to meet Krzysztof Jotko on this Oct. 31 card, but that bout has transformed from Muradov-Jotko to Holland-Ontiveros due to withdrawals. This latest pullout came courtesy of a positive COVID-19 test for Muradov.

UFC Fight Night 181 goes down on Halloween at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Headlining the first-ever show on the October holiday will be a middleweight thriller between Uriah Hall and Anderson Silva. Drawing the co-main assignment is a frighteningly fun featherweight fight as Bryce Mitchell takes on Andre Fili.