UFC Vegas 38 features an exciting co-main event between Kevin Holland and Kyle Daukaus. It’s a crucial comeback fight for Kevin Holland, who is on a 2 fight losing streak at the moment.
Holland has lost to two top middleweights in the world such as Derek Brunson and Marvin Vettori. But, that has completely diminished the hype he had coming into 2021 with 5 wins in 2020.
On the other hand, his opponent Kyle Daukaus, brother of UFC heavyweight Chris Daukaus, has suffered 2 losses in his last three UFC fights.
Though he came into the UFC with an unbeaten streak he has suffered two losses against Brendan Allen and Phil Hawes ever since. Though the loss to Brendan Allen does not look bad in hindsight his performance against Phil Hawes is certainly concerning.
So who will get the job done at UFC Vegas 28?
Kevin Holland vs Kyle Daukaus Prediction
Kevin Holland was dominated on the ground by Derek Brunson and Marvin Vettori in his last two fights. It would not be wrong to say that he was exposed in those fights as fans believed he was a great grappler since he knocked out Jacare Souza on the ground.
However, Trailblazer has addressed his lack of wrestling skills and worked to better it since his loss to Marvin Vettori.
He has trained in American Kickboxing Academy for a brief period to improve his wrestling. And now he is working with the former UFC welterweight champion, Johnny Hendricks, who was a phenomenal wrestler in the octagon.
So the fans can expect Holland to showcase better takedown defense in his fight against Kyle Daukaus.
Kyle Daukaus will definitely look to take the fight to the ground. He has 8 submissions in his career so far. And his grappling is not bad at all considering he was able to deal with Brendan Allen, who submitted Kevin Holland in UFC, on the ground.
Daukaus is likely to follow the same blueprint to beat Kevin Holland and try to take him down. But, he is not as skilled as Brunson or Vettori when it comes to wrestling. And on the feet, he will struggle against Holland.
Holland has a huge reach advantage against most of his opponents in the division, which makes his unorthodox striking very effective. And Daukaus did not look that good against Phil Hawes when it comes to striking.
This is a favorable matchup for Kevin Holland even though Kyle Daukaus is a good fighter. Holland is going to stop the takedown attempts from Daukaus early on and he will try to finish the fight on the feet.
This fight is likely to end in TKO in the favor of the Trailblazer.
Kevin “Trailblazer” Holland vs Kyle Daukaus prediction: Trailblazer by TKO