Kevin Holland sets sights on his first opponent at welterweight
Kevin Holland wants to face Matt Brown on his return to the welterweight division at UFC Fight Night 201.
After being physically bullied in consecutive losses to Derek Brunson and Marvin Vettori, Holland made an effort to put on muscle mass. However, his weight gain didn't work out as expected and caused him to realize that he needed to move to 170 lbs, where he competed seven times prior to joining the UFC.
Brown was expected to build on his first-round KO-win over Dhiego Lima with a fight against Bryan Barberena in December. Unfortunately he was forced to pull out due to COVID-19.
Kevin Holland took to Instagram to react to an MMA Fighting article where Matt Brown said he'd be open to fighting 'The Trailblazer' in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio. Holland wrote:
"I was thinking February 5th [UFC Fight Night 201] two big mouths on one card and definitely a respectful call out og @iamtheimmortal @mmafighting article"
Kevin Holland thinks a welterweight run will be a 'cake walk'
During a conversation with MMA Fighting's Damon Martin, Kevin Holland predicted that he'll have an easier time at 170lbs. He said his knockout power will translate better into the welterweight division.
Holland added that Leon Edwards, Kamaru Usman and Khamzat Chimaev would present the biggest problems for him in his new weight class. Here's what he said:
"I'm getting hung by these huge a** guys at 185 right. They are not doing any damage, they're just laying on top of me. So, I go down to 170 pounds. If I can get up from these guys who are pretty good wrestlers at 185, I know for sure what can do at 170. I got tired fighting at 170 back in the day not just because of the weight cut sucks, just because at the end of the day, once I crack those guys, they fall. So, it is a pretty good chance. I go smack a few heads at 170. The toughest fights at 170 would probably be Leon Edwards, Usman, and Chimaev. Other than that, everybody else is a dog walk. I don't care if they got an undefeated record or not, let's show me a big man at 170. Then once I get done with that, I get the title. I can go to 185 and fight the champ. I mean I'm tired of fighting all these humpers anyways."
Check out Kevin Holland's full interview with MMA Fighting's Damon Martin below: