Thrilling middleweight bout headlines UFC Vegas 16 on December 5

Las Vegas, November 30: UFC continues its series of events in Las Vegas with an intriguing middleweight bout that will see No. 4 ranked contender Jack Hermansson take on No. 13 ranked Marvin Vettori.

Hermansson (21-5, fighting out of Oslo, Norway) hopes to make the most of his third UFC main event by stopping Holland's momentum in highlight-reel fashion.

Known for his devastating ground-and-pound, Hermansson has netted memorable victories against Kelvin Gastelum, Jacare Souza, David Branch and Thales Leites. Hermansson is now poised to defend his spot in the middleweight top five with another vintage performance.

Standing in Hermansson's way this weekend is Vetorri, who made his UFC debut in 2016, comes into this weekend's fight as a late replacement for Kevin Holland, who was removed from the card on Saturday (November 28) after testing positive for COVID-19.

The Italian Dream has wins against Karl Roberson, Andrew Sanchez and Cezar Ferreira. However, he suffered a loss to the current middleweight champion Israel Adesasnya in April 2018.

Two top Europeans!

🇳🇴 @JackTheJokerMMA vs @MarvinVettori 🇮🇹 is your #UFCVegas16 main event next Saturday! pic.twitter.com/4gM6EgK0UY

— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) November 29, 2020

Also on the card, former interim light heavyweight title challenger Ovince Saint Preux faces undefeated Jamahal Hill.

Saint Preux (25-14, fighting out of Knoxville, Tenn.), who is among the most entertaining finishers in MMA, looks to build off the momentum of his recent KO victory against Alonzo Menifield.

Throughout his UFC run, Saint Preux has earned impressive stoppage wins over Tyson Pedro, Corey Anderson and Shogun Rua. He now has his sights set on another show-stealing performance to once again tie Glover Teixeira for most light heavyweight finishes.

Hill (7-0 1NC, fighting out of Grand Rapids, Mich.) aims to remain unbeaten as he continues his ascent up the light heavyweight ladder.

Since earning a contract on Dana White's Contender Series with a TKO victory over Alexander Poppeck last year, Hill secured a spectacular win against Darko Stosic. Hill now looks to shine in his first UFC co-main event by taking out a seasoned veteran for the most important win of his career.

Additional bouts on the card include:

• No. 15 ranked women's flyweight contender Montana De La Rosa (11-6, fighting out of Fort Worth, Texas) faces Dana White's Contender Series Brazil alum Taila Santos (16-1, fighting out of Jaraguá do Sul, SC, Brazil)

• Undefeated light heavyweight Roman Dolidze (7-0, fighting out of Batumi, Georgia) hopes to continue his winning ways against John Allan (13-5 1NC, fighting out of Curitiba, Brazil)

• Lightweight veteran Matt Wiman (16-9, fighting out of Portland, Ore.) aims to hand Jordan Leavitt (7-0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.) his first professional loss

• Dana White's Contender Series contract winner Jimmy Flick (15-5, fighting out of Tulsa, Okla.) debuts against Cody Durden (11-2-1, fighting out of Covington, Ga.)

• Nate Landwehr (14-3, fighting out of Clarksville, Tenn.) meets Movsar Evloev (13-0, fighting out of Sunzha, Republic of Ingushetia, Russia) in a clash of featherweight hopefuls

• Ilia Topuria (9-0, fighting out of Alicante, Spain) hopes to remain unbeaten when he faces Damon Jackson (18-3-1 1NC, fighting out of Dallas, Texas) in a featherweight bout

• Entertaining bantamweights collide when Louis Smolka (16-7, fighting out of Kapolei, Hawaii) takes on Jose Quinonez (9-4, fighting out of San Diego, Calif.)

• Gian Villante (17-12, fighting out of Bellmore, N.Y.) goes for his first UFC heavyweight win when he locks horns with Jake Collier (11-5, fighting out of Cuba, Mo.)

• Gabriel Benitez (21-9, fighting out of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico) faces Justin Jaynes (15-5, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.) in an action-packed featherweight contest

UFC Fight Night on ESPN: Hermansson vs. Holland will take place Saturday, December 5 from UFC APEX in Las Vegas.

The entire event will air on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes (in English and Spanish), and be simulcast on ESPN+. The main card starts at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT and the prelims at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.

Source: Press Release