'I'm fighting Usman next!' - Kevin Holland talks McGregor, Adesanya and his future fight plans [Exclusive]
If Kevin Holland feels any nerves about his first UFC main event, he isn't showing it. Known as 'Trailblazer' to some, 'Bigmouth' to others, Holland [21-5-0] will face off against Derek Brunson [21-7-0] in a middleweight battle at UFC Vegas 22 on Saturday. I spoke to the 28-year-old American a few days prior to that landmark outing. He's coming off an astonishing 2020 in which he was one of the breakout stars in the UFC. An appetite for scraps gave the opportunistic Holland five bouts - tying the promotional record for fights in a calendar year - all of which he won. If his signature mouthiness and diverse skillset weren't eye-catching enough, you could not ignore Holland because he was always around, fighting, winning.
When Belal Muhammad came out for his first main event in mid-March, he was visibly emotional. I wondered if we might see another side to Holland, brought on by reflecting on how far he's come. "Looking at myself and what I've done, not much. Looking at others and what they've done, a whole lot," Holland answered. "I'm happy that my family are living a decent life, but a decent life ain't a great life." The time to reflect will come down the line for Holland. Focusing on the road ahead has worked so far, and he'll have to keep his concentration if he gets his targeted 'six fights' this year. I asked if he's been advised to slow down, not to accept every fight available as his stock rises and the stakes get higher.
"Man, people know better than to talk to me like that, to speak that type of language. We take what we get; we get what we take. I want everything. I want it all. All the smoke. All the smoke comes my way, and I inhale it," Holland answered before deeply inhaling for dramatic effect. "Big lungs, big chief, you know. I like to fight. There's no such thing as slowing down. [When] you want me to slow down, I'll retire. We'll slow down when that happens. Until then, press the gas. No brakes."
Derek Brunson may have other ideas for Kevin Holland's joyride plans. This doesn't faze Big Mouth, who notices Brunson 'has a history of being knocked out.' He, on the other hand, 'doesn't have a history of being knocked out.' Simple, right? Holland expects a diverse approach from Brunson but assures me that he only needs one minute to land a punch 'and in that minute, Brunson will crumble.'
"If we're talking about getting knocked out, that's Derek Brunson's job. It's his job to go out there, eat this right hand, go to sleep, and wake up the next day and tell the fans that he's sorry that he lost."
And then who's next after Brunson? "Usman!" Holland shouts. "We're going to 70kg and fighting Usman." Kamaru Usman is the dominant force at welterweight, a champion with 13 consecutive wins under his belt. Holland has fought at welterweight before. He says that it's his natural weight, and if he were to exit from middleweight, he would go down, not up. He says it in a jokey fashion. Holland's a charismatic guy. It's hard to know when he's sincere and when he's stirring the pot. Yet he brings up the idea of fighting Usman again later in the chat. I asked when he would consider going back down. There could be a surprise come April.
"I told you, I'm fighting Usman next! Everyone thinks he's fighting Masvidal, but I'm fighting Usman. Masvidal is getting old, cries a lot, has complaints. It's not gonna happen. I'm fighting Usman next!"
Assuming Holland isn't entirely serious, he will be sticking around middleweight for the foreseeable future. If his rise continues, a collision course with Israel Adesanya, with whom he has courted a public rivalry, is set. While Adesanya looms large over the division, the Nigerian is no longer champion in Holland's eyes, and the belt is thus vacant.
"Right now, the belt at 185 is vacant. He [Adesanya] is coming off a loss [to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259], and therefore until he wins again, he is not the champ. The belt is vacant. Whoever he fights next is fighting for a vacant belt. Shouldn't have went up to 205lbs and got his ass whupped. That's the way it goes. You lose, you lose your belt. It's a part of martial arts, a part of being a fighter. 'Oh, I changed weight class, so I didn't lose my belt.' You lost. You lost. You lost it all, bucko. So, he's the number one contender at 85kgs, and he fights the number two contender for the belt. Now he's the ex-champ."
Kevin Holland hopes Conor McGregor avenges his loss and gets a happy ending
Kevin Holland doesn't view Adesanya as the biggest threat in the division. That honour goes to Khamzat Chimaev, 'the only fighter in the division with an unbeaten record.' This comment was Holland's chance to quickly remind me that Adesanya is no longer an unbeaten fighter and that you're only as good as your last fight. Going by that logic, one of the company's biggest stars, Conor McGregor, isn't that great. Holland defended The Notorious One on a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience, calling for critics to look at the context of his recent defeats. I asked Holland, a confessed McGregor fan, if he thinks the former 'champ-champ' can rediscover his focus for the expected trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier.
"I think he can win a trilogy belt against Poirier, and if they make if for the belt, that will be his only chance to ever get that belt again. He's talking about this elite-level competition and these guys who don't have as much as he has. These are guys are still very hungry. He can't make up for that. No matter what he does, he can't make up for that hunger. He can go back and he can avenge some losses. Yeah, he can do that. He can go out and make sure his name goes out on top. Yeah, he can do that. But to be that motivated sniper McGregor that he once was at 145lbs and then jumped up to 155lbs at the same time, it's like, somewhere down the line, he went from being that killer to being that money maker," Kevin Holland said.
"It's okay to be a businessman, it's okay to be a moneymaker, but in this game, with four-ounce gloves, you have to be a killer. I know he tweeted 'no more Mr. Nice Guy,' but all of the fathers I ever talk to say there's something about having that daughter that does something, especially when you weren't the man you were supposed to be before you had one. So, I like Conor McGregor a whole lot; the dude is amazing. And he's bumped the pay scale as far as martial arts go. But that being said, can he beat Dustin Poirier? Yeah, he can do what he has to do to get back. The same way he did with the Nate Diaz fight. He can win another Nate fight, you know. But the hungrier the guy, the nastier it's going to be. A couple of more fun fights for Connor would be nice, but ultimately, I like to see the guy get out on top and walk away. You know, it's like, every time he's about to lose, I can hear a deep-down voice saying: 'No, Conor, no!' and then I start screaming: 'No, Conor, no!' So, it's like, go win a fight and get the f*** out of the game. I'm a Conor fan. I hate getting emotional about this s***."
With Khabib retired and other major UFC stars in the twilight of their careers, I asked Kevin Holland if there was a change-of-the-guard feeling for fighters within the company. He said that there was, that this is what MMA was all about. Age catches up with everyone. His star is on the rise, but one day he too will be put out to pasture. I ask if we can expect to see him follow in McGregor's footsteps and mellow out with age. No more chatting with rivals in the octagon, bamboozling them with off-the-cuff exchanges. Instead, only reverence and polite nods.
"Nah, man, here's the problem with these guys: when they play a role, eventually their role dies down. I'm not playing a role. What you see is what you get. It's just who I am. It's like, 'will you ever get a change out of me?' My dad says when I get older, you know, we change, but that's him. That's not me. Once a killer, always a killer. I am who I am."
Viewers in India: Watch UFC Fight Night - Brunson vs. Holland on 21st March, Sony Ten 2, Sony Ten 3 (Hindi) channels from 5:30 am onwards.