Kevin Holland will be looking to win six in a row for the first time in his professional MMA career when he battles fellow middleweight Derek Brunson on Saturday at UFC Vegas 22 as a -175 favourite on the UFC odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Holland is coming off a spectacular 2020. The 28-year-old set a new UFC record by emerging victorious in each of his five octagon appearances, including wins inside five minutes in his two most recent fights ahead of Saturday night’s bout at UFC Apex.
After disposing of Charlie Ontiveros by submission just 2:39 into their clash at UFC Vegas 12, Holland needed just 105 seconds to claim a knockout victory over Ronaldo Souza at UFC 256. In addition to paying out on -140 odds at online sports betting sites in that December clash, Holland also took home his third Performance of the Night bonus of the year, and now sits at No. 10 on the UFC middleweight rankings.
Set as a +145 underdog for Saturday, Brunson is searching for a fourth straight victory. But while Holland has made short work of his recent opponents, Brunson has seen two of his past three fights go the distance. The 37-year-old American came away with unanimous decision wins in 2019 clashes with Elias Theodorou and Ian Heinisch, but Brunson resurrected his punching power last time out, ending Edmen Shahbazyan’s night by third-round TKO at UFC Vegas 5 while sporting +300 odds.
Brunson’s current win streak marks a dramatic turnaround after falling to defeat in four of his previous six outings, with each of those defeats coming in the opening round. However, he has a lengthy track record of finishing opponents early, with seven of his 11 wins since joining the UFC coming inside five minutes.
Elsewhere on the UFC Vegas 22 odds, Brad Riddell makes his Sin City debut as he takes on Gregor Gillespie in a battle of lightweights as a +205 underdog. As well, a pair of women’s strawweight fighters make their UFC debut as Cheyanne Buys clashes with Montserrat Ruiz as heavy -350 chalk, while Adrian Yanez tangles with Gustavo Lopez as a -230 favourite in bantamweight action.
A native of Christchurch, New Zealand, Riddell makes his first-ever appearance in Las Vegas riding a six-fight win streak. That run features a pair of first-round TKO wins. However, each of his three fights since joining the UFC have gone a full three rounds, with the 29-year-old earning a nod from the judges in each.
Gillespie, meanwhile, enters the octagon as a -265 favourite on Saturday despite suffering a stunning first-round KO loss to Kevin Lee at UFC 244, which marked the 34-year-old’s first defeat in 14 career fights.
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