This past weekend at UFC 256, Kevin Holland (21-5) took on Jacare Souza (26-9, 1 NC) on the PPV main card. It was a big step up for Holland who was looking to finish off 2020 having gone 5-0 inside the octagon.
Holland was originally supposed to face Jack Hermansson a couple of weeks ago. However, he tested positive for COVID and the UFC moved him back to face Jacare. I personally thought that Jacare would be able to get him down and give him problems in their fight.
At UFC 256, the opening moments looked like I was going to be right. Jacare was able to catch a low kick from Holland in the opening seconds and take him down. Once on the ground, Jacare was supposed to have a massive advantage.
One of the things that makes Holland so marketable is his talking inside the octagon. Jacare had him down and blasted him with a couple of massive shots. To those shots, Holland said to Jacare, “Those are great Jacare. I had a dream about this!”
To that, Jacare smiled back at Holland. However, he wasn’t smiling for very long. From his back, Holland whipped a right hand that hit Jacare on the forehead. The shot dazed Jacare and Holland got up and blasted him with a few additional shots to close the show.
The UFC’s next star?
Kevin Holland has put himself on the map here in 2020. The great thing for the UFC is the guy is extremely marketable. He has an incredibly fun fighting style and the guy knows how to sell himself.
Not only is he entertaining while inside the octagon, he puts on a complete show from the walkout to the fight. At UFC 256 he was rapping to the security guard as they walked to the cage. Then proceeded to dance with Jacare before the fight started.
Kevin Holland is knocking on the door of stardom at the moment. The guy just has that it factor about him. He has everything you want in a fighter that you want to market and he’s down to fight anyone at anytime.
After he defeated Jacare, he called out Khamzat Chimaev for a fight this Saturday night. Of course that fight won’t happen, but you have to love the energy from Kevin Holland. I’m very excited to see what 2021 has in store for the UFC middleweight.