“Modern day Cowboy Cerrone,” Kevin Holland talks what made him accept last-minute opponent change & fight Khamzat Chimaev
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Khamzat Chimaev- Kevin Holland
Kevin Holland is really about that life where he will never fade away from huge fights no matter how big the odds go against him. Holland was fluctuating his career between welterweight and middleweight until he decided to stay and focus only on the 170 lbs weight class. Holland’s first shot to fame was fighting at Dana White’s Contender Series and being not given a UFC contract due to his trash-talking nature in between the fights.
Later on, when Thiago Santos needed a last-minute opponent to fight back in 2018, Holland came to the rescue of the UFC to save the competition. Eventually, Holland peaked his fighting potential in 2020 when he won back to back 5 scraps in the same year including a significant win over a legend in Ronaldo Souza.
This weekend at UFC 279, Holland was supposed to fight Daniel Rodriguez but due to last-minute changes caused because of UFC welterweight Khamzat Chimaev missing weight in his main-event fight against UFC megastar Nate Diaz, Holland has accepted to fight Chimaev in the co-main slot for 5 rounds since they both closed at a similar weight.
Kevin Holland wants a black suit and a cowboy hat to look like UFC legend Donald Cerrone
A thing about this last-minute opponent change for both Chimaev and Holland is that they both already have a reason to fight each other, so the build-up for the fight is there. Chimaev and Holland have gone on a back and forth throughout the fight week which also led to the infamous brawl that led to the cancellation of the UFC 279 press conference. In an interview with Megan Olivi, Holland reveals what made him take the Chimaev fight on mere 24 hours’ notice knowing that Chimaev is a dangerous opponent who’s coming off a huge over the former UFC title challenger Gilbert Burns.
“I never said I wanted to fight this guy,” says Holland “I mean, they needed somebody to step up because the guy couldn’t make weight and anywhere, anytime, anyplace. I guess I’m really that guy, Modern Day Cowboy Cerrone, I should get myself a nice cowboy hat and I should get myself a black suit. Yeehaw!” concluded Holland. Holland is comparing his attitude to that of MMA legend Donald Cerrone who was always in to fight anyone, anytime and at any place between the lightweight and the welterweight division.
What do you make of Holland’s reason to take the Chimaev fight? Who do you think wins between Holland and Chimaev this weekend? Holland is a very slick striker who knows how to find his opening for his shots. Chimaev is a power puncher who can imbalance his opponent with a mere jab. On the ground, Chimaev is an advanced-level grappler whereas Holland is just exploring his potential on how far he can excel in the game.
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Abhai Singh Tanwar
(1386 Articles Published)