UFC: Henry Cejudo explains why Kevin Holland moving to welterweight is a bad move
Henry Cejudo has suggested that Kevin Holland's move down to the welterweight (170-pound) division is a bad move for him. Holland has competed in the middleweight (185-pound) division since late 2017. He’s set to return to welterweight against Alex ‘Cowboy’ Oliveira at tonight’s UFC 272 event.
In an edition of The Triple C & Schmo Show, ‘The King of Cringe’ Cejudo spoke to The Schmo regarding Holland’s much-awaited return to the octagon and his move to 170 pounds. Cejudo stated:
“Going down is not always the answer, man. I like Kevin Holland. He’s part of the ‘Cringe’ mafia. But going down is not always the answer, man. It’s about you being skilled and knowing the techniques. You’ve got the right resources, man.”
The former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion added:
“You’ve been to AKA (American Kickboxing Academy). Stay at AKA. Work on those fundamentals of wrestling. And I think you can do something at the weight that you want to continue to keep doing; that was middleweight. 170 is not the answer, dude. Those dudes are going to come just as vicious. You actually lose speed going down. You really do. You don’t get faster. You don’t get stronger.”
#UFC272Ahead of his welterweight debut, @Trailblaze2top hit 170 pounds 💪 #UFC272 https://t.co/2pQJz7Uvjh
‘Triple C’ explained that a fighter generally loses speed after moving down a weight class because they don’t have the same twitch and thump in the lower weight class. That said, Cejudo lauded Holland for his willingness to compete in the welterweight division as he knows it’s not an easy task.
However, the former UFC star reiterated that moving down in weight isn’t always the right path to success. Cejudo added that it’s due to this very reason he’s picking Alex Oliveira to defeat Kevin Holland at UFC 272.
Watch the conversation between Henry Cejudo and The Schmo in the video below:
Kevin Holland names 3 toughest opponents at welterweight
Speaking to MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin late last year, Kevin Holland opined that while the bigger fighters at middleweight took him down, they didn’t land any significant damage and simply laid on top to outpoint him.
Cowboy welcomes the Trailblazer back into welterweight waters 🌊
@TrailBlaze2Top vs @AlexCowboyUFC
[ #UFC272 | Tomorrow | Live on ESPN+ PPV: ufc.ac/3K36d8R ] https://t.co/B3XHEXxDk6
Holland emphasized that he still managed to get back to his feet despite being at a weight disadvantage at middleweight. He noted that he’s more than confident about dealing with similar challenges that he might face at welterweight.
Furthermore, naming the three fighters who he views as his toughest opponents at welterweight, Holland said:
“The toughest fights at 170 would probably be Leon Edwards, (Kamaru) Usman, and (Khamzat) 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.”