Khamzat Chimaev called out by Kevin Holland for December 19 showdown
2020 has been the year of Kevin Holland and there seems to be nothing stopping the middleweight sensation as he marches on towards the 185-pound strap.
He made it 5 wins out of 5 appearances in the UFC in 2020 knocking out veteran and BJJ practitioner Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza from the bottom in what is sure to be a ‘performance of the night’ bonus worthy finish.
However, it seems he is in no mood to wait long for his next fight as he called out Khamzat Chimaev for a fight next week at UFC Vegas 17.
Chimaev was originally scheduled to headline the December 19th card against Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards. However, Leon Edwards tested positive for COVID 19 and the fight had to be called off.
Additionally, Chimaev had recently debuted at number 15 in UFC welterweight rankings, giving him no incentive to fight a middleweight in Holland.
Kevin Holland already had 4 wins to his name in 2020 - the first fighter to do so in the pandemic-hit year - when he was awarded the main event slot against Jack Hermanson at UFC Vegas 16.
However, Holland tested positive for COVID 19 and was eventually replaced by Marvin Vettori.
Kevin Holland knocks out ‘Jacare’ Souza at UFC 256
Kevin Holland came up with one of the most innovative knockouts in recent memory as he knocked out ‘Jacare’ Souza in a pivotal middleweight division bout.
This was Kevin Holland’s 5th win in 2020.
What makes this feat even more impressive is that Holland did not step in the Octagon for the first 4 months of the year.
His amazing streak started in May this year with a 39 second TKO of Anthony Hernandez.
He would then go on to defeat Darren Stewart, Joaquin Buckley, and Charlie Ontiveros before landing the Souza fight.