Kevin Holland announces June 18 battle with Tim Means in Texas

Leave it to the Kevin Holland to turn a standard fight announcement into a big drama show.

Holland (22-7, 1 NC) released a video on Friday that gave out the date and location of his next fight, as well as his opponent. Fighting with someone dressed up as Big Bird wearing roller skates, Holland declared that he would be taking on Tim Means (32-12-1, 1 NC) on the unnamed UFC Fight Night card on June 18. The two will tangle in the welterweight division at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas, signaling his return to his adopted state of Texas for the first time since 2018.

“Trailblazer” Holland dropped back down to the welterweight division after a long stretch at 185 pounds, where he competed 13 times inside the Octagon at that weight category. A rough patch of two defeats and a no contest due to an accidental clash of heads prompted a move back to welterweight, and he emerged victorious in that return by knocking Alex Oliveira out with elbows in March.

Like Holland, Means is an entertainer, with the lion’s share of his career wins – a clean 75% -- inside the distance. At 38 years of age, “The Dirty Bird” has won three fights in a row, his longest win streak since he rattled off four straight in 2014 and 2015. In this period, he has beaten Laureano Staropoli, Mike Perry and Nicolas Dalby, all on the scorecards.

There is currently no headliner for the UFC Fight Night event. Beyond Holland vs. Means, other fights likely to serve on the main card include a bantamweight clash between Cody Stamann and Eddie Wineland, a lightweight battle pitting Damir Ismagulov against Guram Kutateladze, and a middleweight tilt as Julian Marquez faces off against Gregory Rodrigues.