Kicking off the main card this past Saturday at UFC 316 was a big time matchup in the welterweight division. Vicente Luque (23-11-1) was trying to defend his spot in the rankings as he took on fan-favorite Kevin Holland (28-13).
Holland looked really focused ahead of this fight which was his second straight at welterweight after a brief return to 185 last year. Holland immediately started talking to Luque once the fight started. Luque was plotting forward and Holland was landing big shots on the outside. He looked fast in there on Saturday.
Luque was landing good shots in the first, but the first round went to Holland. In the second, Holland was really controlling the standup and then Luque shot for a takedown. In the scramble, Holland locked in a d’arce choke and Luque was forced to tap. It was a massive statement win for Kevin Holland at UFC 316.
What’s next after UFC 316?
I loved what I heard from Kevin Holland in the post-fight interview. Holland made it clear that he’s taking his career seriously and he said that he’s going to be staying at 170 pounds which is where he belongs. In terms of his callout, he called out former interim champion and ninth ranked welterweight Colby Covington.
That is the perfect matchup and UFC CEO Dana White said in the post-fight press conference that he thinks that’s a fun fight to make. If Covington is down, I think that’s an excellent matchup for Holland. After Holland’s win, another name that I thought about is 13th ranked Carlos Prates.
Turns out, Holland was thinking the same as he said that’s another guy he’d like to fight in the post-fight press conference. Given how hard it seems to be to get Covington in the octagon these days, I think the Prates fight is more likely and sign me up for that fight immediately.
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