Tomorrow night in the co-main event of UFC Vancouver, we are going to see a welterweight matchup with a spot in the rankings on the line. 15th ranked Kevin Holland (28-14, 1 NC) will try to hold onto his spot as he takes on Canada’s Mike Malott (12-2-1).
Starting with Kevin Holland, he will be making the walk for the fifth time this year already. Holland made his octagon debut just over seven years ago and this is already his 29th fight. He’s had a wild ride of a career that’s seen him bounce back and fourth between 185 and 170 pounds.
Holland is better suited for welterweight, but he hasn’t always been a fan of cutting weight. That said, after his loss to Reinier De Ridder in January, Holland wanted to take his career more seriously and dropped down to 170. He won his first two fights back at 170 before falling to Daniel Rodriguez at UFC 318 in July.
He’ll look to get back in the win column in enemy territory tomorrow night. Mike Malott was being looked at as Canada’s next big fighter on the mens side of things. After a first round finish on The Contender Series earned him a contract, he won his first three UFC bouts all by finish.
He was then scheduled to face Neil Magny in January 2024 and he was winning that fight with only about two minutes left. Then, he completely flatlined in terms of his cardio and Magny scored the come from behind TKO with only 15 seconds left.
It was an awful loss by Malott and his hype died down. That said, he’s bounced back strong with two straight wins and now, he’ll look to get his third win in a row and catapult himself into the rankings.
UFC Vancouver Prediction
Kevin Holland has become one of the most difficult fighters to predict because I truly never know what to expect. There are times where I walk away from a Kevin Holland fight and think that there’s absolutely a path to him being a UFC world champion.
However, then there’s times where I walk away wondering if he even prepared for the fight. I’m very curious to see what kind of Kevin Holland we get tomorrow night. On the feet, he’s longer and likely carries more raw power than Malott. Holland has always shown a great chin, but Daniel Rodriguez rocked him multiple times in their fight.
Granted, Holland rocked him back and nearly finished him. Holland has really struggled when it comes to wrestlers and being controlled on the ground. While Holland has incredible submissions, he’s been susceptible to getting controlled by stronger wrestlers.
I think Mike Malott’s path to victory at UFC Vancouver is threw his wrestling and mixing things up. While he has good striking, I think he’ll want to avoid the length and power of Holland. The big question is, does Malott have the grappling to take Holland down and control him?
I’m not convinced that he does. This is a fight that could take Malott from where he is and insert him into the rankings, but I haven’t seen anything that convinces me that he’ll beat Kevin Holland tomorrow night. The strength of schedule difference between these two is staggering and I think you’ll see Holland put on one of his best performances tomorrow night on his way to a win.
Prediction: Kevin Holland by TKO
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