"Beat Brunson, there are going to be 1000 excuses"- Kevin Holland not pleased with Derek Brunson being his first UFC main event
After five victories in 2020, Kevin Holland is set for his first UFC main event in 2021. Going up against veteran middleweight Derek Brunson, Trailblazer didn't sound too thrilled about facing the veteran fighter and admitted to hating the fact that he has to face the "gatekeeper" in his first main event.
In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Kevin Holland admitted the above statement but did add that the storyline with Derek Brunson is good. The red-hot middleweight fighter even gave his next opponent props for having fun on social media to build-up the fight.
“I just hate that Brunson is my first main event. I mean, the storyline is good. It’s cool. Everything is amazing there. I’m having fun with him online. He’s kind of making me enjoy that it is him. But at the same time, Brunson? He’s kind of the gatekeeper. He’s another year older. It was just his birthday. This, that, etc., etc., etc."
Kevin Holland said that even if he beats Derek Brunson, there will be 1000 excuses on why he did so. Trailblazer would rather have the main event with no excuses.
“It’s like, beat Brunson, there are going to be 1,000 excuses why you beat Brunson, too. A main event against somebody with no excuses? That would’ve been amazing. The main event, beating Brunson, and there’s going to be a thousand excuses once I beat, him? Ooh. Cool.”
After being active throughout the entirety of 2020 and fresh off a win over Ronaldo Souza, Holland tends to do the same in 2021. The middleweight sensation has been willing to step up on short notice and fight anybody, anywhere. He once again offered his services to step up to the plate if UFC needs him to, prior to his fight against Brunson in March.
“I’m healthy,” Holland said. “As soon as they came back to the Apex, I figured that would be great. If the boss wants March, I’ll take March. If anything happens in between (that) time and they need somebody to step up into something. I’ll do that and I’ll still do Brunson in March.”
When will Kevin Holland face Derek Brunson?
Kevin Holland and Derek Brunson are scheduled to headline the UFC on March 20th Fight Night card. The event is likely to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.