XFC champ Scott Holtzman gets stay-busy fight while waiting for title defense

Without a fight lined up in the promotion he holds a title in, Scott Holtzman will venture out this week.

“Hot Sauce,” XFC’s lightweight champion, on Saturday will take his unbeaten record to the Virginia-based Premier Fighting Challenge for a one-off bout. Holtzman (6-0) on Saturday will meet George Sheppard (14-7) in a stay-busy fight.

XFC’s current focus is on establishing itself outside of the United States with a series in Latin America, along with a television deal there. So to allow Holtzman to stay active, the promotion granted him the chance to fight elsewhere while waiting for his next title defense in the XFC.

Holtzman this past June stopped John Mahlow in the second round at XFC 24 to win the vacant lightweight title, a belt that Nick Newell was stripped of before he signed with WSOF. In his first defense of the title in October, he took a unanimous decision from Roger Carroll at XFC 26 to stay unbeaten.

All of the Tennessee-based Holtzman’s fights are for XFC since he turned pro in 2012. The 30-year-old champ has four stoppages for the promotion, including his title victory.

Sheppard, a Virginian, has won four of his past six fights. He has cage experience against the likes of UFC lightweights Charlie Brenneman and Jimy Hettes, RFA standout and onetime “TUF” hopeful Dakota Cochrane, and Bellator veteran Jose Figueroa. The 25-year-old has 10 of his 14 wins by finish, including eight knockouts.

For more on XFC’s upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.