Stephen Thompson-Kevin Holland Booked to Headline UFC on ESPN 42 on Dec. 3

The final Ultimate Fighting Championship event on ESPN this year looks to have quite a memorable main attraction.

Fight fans, have we got a gift for you 🎁@WonderboyMMA takes on @Trailblaze2top in your #UFCOrlando main event!

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[ @AmwayCenter | Dec 3 | Tickets On-Sale Oct 14 🎟 | https://t.co/6O0EJt33mC ] pic.twitter.com/N7hI2QdGHp

— UFC (@ufc) October 5, 2022

On Wednesday, the UFC announced on social media the main event of its Dec. 3 production. The fight card, set as UFC on ESPN 42, will go down inside of the Amway Center in Orlando, Fla. The headliner will come at 170 pounds between talented strikers Stephen Thompson (16-6-1) and Kevin Holland (23-8, 1 NC), with the latter ending his brief retirement for this five-round affair. Additionally, a 115-pound scrap between Yazmin Jauregui and Istela Nunes has been reported by MMAFighting on Wednesday, and confirmed by its participants shortly after its announcement.

Thompson will be setting foot in the cage for the first time in nearly a year, with his last outing a 15-minute decision loss to Belal Muhammad at UFC Fight Night 199 in December 2021. The loss was his second in a row, as he dropped a decision to Gilbert Burns as well at UFC 264 earlier that year. The former title challenger, one who notoriously took champ Tyron Woodley to a majority draw in 2016, has not won a fight since December 2020. With a highlight reel littered with knockouts over names like Robert Whittaker, Johny Hendricks and Jake Ellenberger, “Wonderboy” has not finished a fight since that 2016 victory over Hendricks.

Like his opponent, Holland is not coming into this marquee matchup on the heels of a win. On short notice, “Trailblazer” squared off against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 279, taking the bout on a day’s notice after Chimaev missed weight for his main event by nearly eight pounds. Holland succumbed to a brabo choke submission in the first round, making him one of a small number of UFC fighters including Dustin Poirier that have both won and lost fights with this particular choke. Before the Chimaev setback, Holland topped Alex Oliveira and Tim Means in his return to welterweight, putting them both away in the second round in 2022. Following the Chimaev fight, Holland cryptically announced his retirement, while claiming only a lucrative or thrilling encounter will bring him back to fighting.

UFC on ESPN 42 will take place at the Amway Center in Orlando, Fla. on Dec. 3. Other than the Thompson-Holland main event, the bout order has yet to be determined. Several noteworthy fights will likely take main card placement, however, including a middleweight tilt between Derek Brunson and Jack Hermansson once rumored to be this show’s top fight. Welterweights Rafael dos Anjos and Bryan Barberena will also tangle with one another, Matt Schnell will battle Matheus Nicolau at 125 pounds, and Tracy Cortez faces ex-strawweight contender Amanda Ribas in the flyweight division.