Kevin Holland burst onto the scene in 2018 after defeating Will Santiago Jr on the contender series. He then took a short-notice fight against Thiago Santos just two months later. Ever since then he has been on a rampage in the UFC middleweight division. Today we will be talking about why we believe Kevin Holland should be awarded fighter of the year.
Record-Breaking Year For Kevin Holland
Kevin Holland tied the record for most bouts in a calendar year this year with five bouts. He is currently tied with Neil Magny and Roger Huerta. The unique part of Holland’s year is that it is in the midst of a global pandemic. Huerta had 11 months to get five fights while Magny had nine months. Holland’s first fight of 2020 was in May, so he only needed eight months to get to five fights. More impressive than that, Holland actually called out rising star Khamzat Chimaev for a fight on a week’s notice.
The Excitement Of His Victories
Kevin Holland’s 2020 started off with a TKO victory over Anthony Hernandez. In his second fight, he took on UFC newcomer, Joaquin Buckley. He was able to finish Buckley in the third round. Buckley went on to have a knockout of the year after his fight with Holland. Making Holland’s win that much more impressive. Holland then took a fight with Darren Stewart on short notice. Just one month after his fight with Stewart, Holland took on Charlie Ontiveros on short notice. He won that fight via TKO due to a slam that injured the neck of Ontiveros. That leads us to his last fight of the year which was just five days ago. Holland took on his biggest test to date, Ronaldo Jacare Souza. Holland landed one of the most exciting knockouts of 2020. He knocked Souza out with a punch off his back. In that five-fight string, he won two performance of the night bonuses.
Marketability
Holland proves every single time he steps into the cage that he is one of the best in the world. What goes unnoticed sometimes, is how marketable he is as a fighter. He talks to his opponents in the cage and he is a very well-spoken and well-educated young man. Every time he gets a microphone in front of him he makes sure he is talked about the following day for what he said. Everyone in the fight game knows there are two things that will bring you success. The first thing is winning fights, and the second thing is how popular you can make yourself by the things you do and say outside of the octagon.
Kevin Holland has had one hell of a year in 2020, but 2021 should be even better for the trailblazer. If he keeps winning fights in an impressive fashion, he should definitely be in line for a title shot by the end of 2021 at the latest.
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