Kevin Holland has a unique reason for wanting to beat up Derek Brunson.
Holland continues to rise up the middleweight ranks following his emphatic first-round knockout of Jacare Souza at UFC 256 this past weekend.
As a result, he climbed up to No. 10 in the middleweight rankings and has now set his sights on the No. 7-ranked Brunson en route to potential title contention.
Why Brunson in particular? Holland isn’t a fan of his striking.
“I would love for it to be. I would love for it to be,” Holland told Ariel Helwani when asked if Brunson is next on his list. “If you keep speaking it, it may just happen! We’ve had a few little talks. We were supposed to be on the same card when he fought Edmen Shahbazyan. I was supposed to fight Trevin Giles.
“I was lowkey hoping his fight fell apart so I could fight him that night. Didn’t work out. I was watching him work out in the backroom. He just looks weird when he warms up, he just strikes so funny to me. I want to beat him up because I don’t like the way he strikes. It just looks awkward. It’s like a disrespect to striking. It’s sad that he’s knocked out strikers before with that weird striking.”
Brunson hasn’t responded as of yet but it’s only a matter of time until he claps back at Holland.
Do you agree with Holland about Brunson’s striking? And should that be the fight that is next for both contenders?