Tomorrow night on the main card of UFC 272, we are going to see the welterweight debut of one of the fighters of the year from 2020. Former middleweight contender Kevin Holland (21-7, 1 NC) is dropping down to 170 to take on “Cowboy Alex Oliveira (22-11-1, 2 NC).
You almost couldn’t draw up a better year than Kevin Holland had in 2020 in the UFC. After losing to Brendan Allen in 2019, Holland went on a sensational run where he won five fights in 2020 with four knockouts.
However, after going winless in his last three fights, Holland needed a change of scenery. He decided that he wanted to drop to his natural weight class of 170 pounds and there’s a cowboy waiting for him.
Alex Oliveira has been in there with a who’s who of the welterweight division. From Gilbert Burns to Donald Cerrone to Carlos Condit. Oliveira is battle tested and he needs a win badly at UFC 272. He comes into tomorrow night riding a three-fight losing streak.
UFC 272 Prediction
The one major thing that Oliveira has going for him tomorrow night is his toughness and his experience. In his UFC career, Oliveira has only been stopped by strikes once and that came back in 2017.
Oliveira has solid striking and he does have a decent ground game. However, one might point to the fact that most of his losses have come via submission. If I’m being honest, it’s hard for me to find a spot where I would favor him tomorrow.
Kevin Holland is very long and has dynamic striking. I’m expecting his power to carry down well to the UFC’s welterweight division. I think he’s going to be a big problem for welterweight contenders.
I see Alex Oliveira struggling to get on the inside all night with Kevin Holland picking him apart from the outside. While it’s only happened once before, I think Holland finds the big shot in the third round to get the TKO win at UFC 272.
Prediction: Kevin Holland by TKO – Round 3