Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight up-and-comer Kevin Holland, who won five straight fights in 2020 with four knockouts, will earn two things with a victory over Derek Brunson in the UFC Vegas 22 main event this Sat. night (March 20) in Las Vegas.
A big check and a whole lot of clout.
That’s according to the No. 10-ranked “Trailblazer,” who could parlay both of those rewards into something even more profitable, like a Jake Paul fight. The YouTube sensation is currently scheduled to box UFC export Ben Askren on April 17 in Atlanta.
“A devastating win over Derek Brunson, it gives me a big check and a whole lot of clout,” Holland told MMA Fighting. “Whatever’s next is next and I’ll take it. I don’t want to get into trouble for saying something stupid but Jake Paul’s fighting Ben Askren. Jake Paul should fight somebody who can actually throw some hands if he’s going to fight somebody from the MMA scene. I can throw some hands.”
Just ask this guy.
Holland (21-5) made a name for himself on Season 2 of Dana White’s “Contender Series” back in summer 2018, but his career didn’t take off until two years later when “Trailblazer” started racking up consecutive wins in impressive fashion.
One more and perhaps it’ll be time to start talking about the title.
“Beating [Brunson], what does it say about my future? It just says I’m ready for the next person,” Holland continued. “Who’s next after that? It don’t matter who’s next after that. I see they got a lot of fights booked at 185 and vaginal muscles get pulled all the time and it seems like a lot of these guys got vaginal muscles, so I’ll be there.”
Brunson (21-7) is hoping to reestablish himself as a legitimate contender for the 185-pound throne. The 36 year-old Strikeforce import bounced back from a crushing defeat to Israel Adesanya to capture three in a row, including his recent spoiler over Edmen Shahbazyan.
I don’t expect either fighter to be a part of the Jake Paul sweepstakes, assuming the social media star gets past Askren next month in “The Peach State,” but this bout will definitely prove that Holland is a 185-pound contender.
Or pretender.