Kevin Holland has been one of the breakout stars of 2020. He is 4-0 in this calendar year with three of those wins coming via stoppages. Stellar stoppage wins over the likes of Joaquin Buckley and Anthony Hernandez among others along with his willingness to fight frequently and take on any opponent put in front of him has made ‘Trailblazer’ a crowd favorite.
Holland who initially stepped in to fight Jack Hermansson last weekend tested positive for COVID and had to withdraw from the fight. However, he wasted no time in getting back into the octagon and is now facing Ronaldo Souza this weekend at UFC 256.
Read: “He wouldn’t shut up”- When Dana White accepted he was wrong about Kevin Holland
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Kevin Holland details interaction with champion Israel Adesanya
In an interview when asked about the animosity between him and champion Adesanya, Holland said, “He’s obviously been thinking about me for a while. I saw him and he walked up to me and reached his hand out and said, ‘Yo, Mr. Holland.’ When I walked away, he was telling everybody, ‘That’s the guy I was telling you about.’ I don’t get that. I mean, if you’re the king of the division, quote-unquote, and you’re the guy who is on top, what the hell are you worried about a guy who’s not even in the top 15, top 20.”
After his win against Ontiveros, with champion Israel Adesanya in attendance. Holland jumped on the fence and started yelling at ‘The Last Stylebender’. Holland is currently unranked in the division and is nowhere close to fighting Adesanya. However, he is on the right track to do so.
He is currently 4-0 this year and aims to become the first fighter at 185-pounds to go 5-0 in a calendar year with a win over ‘Jacare’.
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A win over a veteran in Souza will definitely help establish Holland as a bonafide contender. Furthermore, it will help him climb up the ranks at middleweight. If ‘Trailblazer’ can keep up his performances in 2021, it won’t be long before we see him fight for a title.
Do you think Kevin Holland can maintain this form next year and fight for the title? Let us know in the comments below.