One of the most exciting talents in the UFC middleweight division, Kevin Holland makes his octagon return this Saturday. Holland takes on the UFC veteran, Derek Brunson in the main event of UFC Vegas 22.
This is a crucial fight for Kevin Holland who is riding a 5 fight win streak in the division at the moment. With a win over Derek Brunson, Kevin Holland can put himself in a possible title shot position. But, a loss to Brunson can seriously damage the momentum Holland has had so far in the division.
On the other hand, for the 37 years old, Derek Brunson this might be the final run for a potential title shot in UFC. He is on a 3 fight win streak at the moment and he would love to continue the streak and climb the ranking ladder.
The stake on this fight is huge and one would expect that both Holland and Brunson will enter the octagon at UFC Vegas 22 under a lot of pressure. However, that has not stopped the “Big Mouth” Kevin Holland from entertaining the fans.
For quite a while now, Kevin Holland has been engaging with Israel Adesanya on social media. Though Adesanya has not responded to Holland directly so far that has not discouraged Holland from picking his shots.
Kevin Holland takes a dig at Israel Adesanya
Recently, Adesanya talked about the next number one title contender in the middleweight division in a recent interview with ESPN. Adesanya stated that even if Holland beats Brunson he can not expect a title shot following the win. However, Adesanya believes that Darren Till should get a title shot if he manages to get past Marvin Vettori in his next fight.
Kevin Holland reacted to Adesanya’s comments by trolling him for his “nipple” controversy. Holland stated:
“Hey, Darren Till, I think he(Israel Adesanya) will bring the pink hair when he fights you. the bromance is real #breastfeeding”
Israel Adesanya has mentioned multiple times that the fight with Darren Till excites him the most in the middleweight division. Well, Holland seems not okay with the champion sidelining him for a potential title shot.
Kevin Holland has already had a run-in with Adesanya after his KO win over Charlie Ontiveros. Holland and Adesanya exchanged a few words after the fight, giving birth to a new rivalry.
At the moment, Kevin Holland might need one more victory over a top-ranked opponent if he overcomes Derek Brunson first. Though Holland has been very impressive so far he still needs a lot of improvements before he takes on champions such as Robert Whittaker or Israel Adesanya.