Kevin Holland is a rising star in the UFC’s middleweight division and an impressive win over veteran 185-pound contender Derek Brunson this weekend in their main event matchup could show whether or not Holland is ready to be considered a legitimate threat to the title.
The 28-year-old is riding an impressive winning streak and appears to have the physical and mental tools necessary to reach the top of a competitive division currently ruled by Israel Adesanya.
Holland (21-5) became the third fighter in modern UFC history to have his hand raised five times in a calendar year when he did so in 2020, joining Roger Huerta (2007) and Neil Magny (2014). All five of Holland’s wins came in a 211-day stretch between May 16 and Dec. 12 and four of them ended in a knockout or technical knockout.
He defeated Anthony Hernandez, Joaquin Buckley, Darren Stewart, Charlie Ontiveros and his 5-0 year was capped off with an incredible KO of Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza – a finishing sequence truly unique to the sport of mixed martial arts.
Holland is the No. 10-ranked contender in the division and after he defeated Jacare he called out the No. 7-ranked Brunson and said that’s who he wanted “to smack” next.
He has also made sure to let people know how he feels about the current champ and his recent unanimous decision loss to light-heavyweight titleholder Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259.
“In a lot of other sports if you are the champ and you lose, you are no longer the champ,” Holland said of Adesanya when speaking to reporters this week in Las Vegas during his media availability. “Granted, he moved up a weight class, but the dude lost. Is there any other fighters right now that has done just about every combat sport and lost in every combat sport? Is there? So, I guess you can say he’s a true loser.”
The more Holland continues flapping his gums the more attention he’s likely to receive.
The more Holland continues winning in impressive fashion, the closer he’ll be to a shot at Adesanya.
However, before he can earn a chance to prove himself against the champ he’ll have to get past Brunson, which is no easy task.
Holland is younger, taller, and has a reach advantage over Brunson and we know when a fighter has those three metrics in their favour they win far more often than they lose.
Brunson (21-7) has settled into a de facto gatekeeper role in the middleweight division and he was a significant underdog in his most recent outing against another rising middleweight star in Ronda Rousey protégé Edmen Shahbazyan last August. Brunson closed as a three-to-one underdog but he finished Shahbazyan early in the third round of their main event scrap.
Brunson opened as a small favourite over Holland but the line has swung significantly towards Holland, who was listed as a -175 favourite two days prior to the event.
With knockout wins over the likes of Uriah Hall and former UFC champion Lyoto Machida, Brunson can finish top fighters and he routinely shows the ability to beat fighters ranked below him in the weight class. In fact, Brunson’s only losses in the UFC have been to Adesanya, Jacare, Anderson Silva, Robert Whittaker and Yoel Romero.
If you beat Brunson, you’re undeniable. Holland wants to prove just that on Saturday.
Prop bet to consider:
Kevin Holland by stoppage at +120
Brunson should have a wrestling advantage and his left hand is no joke, yet overall I see Holland as having more weapons and more ways to finish the fight. With this being a southpaw vs. orthodox matchup, each fighter’s power hand could be what ends the bout. Holland, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Travis Lutter, also has underrated submissions and with his length and leverage it wouldn’t be entirely surprising if he looked to lock in a choke at some point. It’s a five-round fight and I see Holland eventually finding his spot to end things and pick up another Performance of the Night bonus.
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