Pre-fight Analysis

Kevin Holland vs. Derek Brunson – UFC Vegas 22 Preview

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Kevin Holland will look to continue his dominance at UFC Vegas 22 as he takes on fellow middleweight contender Derek Brunson. While the winner of this fight will probably not be next in line for the title, they will be in line for a top-five fight. This fight on paper looks like it will be a classic striker versus grappler fight. Although Derek Brunson has shown major improvements in his last few fights. Holland has also shown throughout his career that it is going to be tough to take him down and keep him there. Holland comes into this fight with a two-inch height and four-inch reach advantage over Brunson.

Kevin Holland  (21-5)

Holland is on a five-fight winning streak with all five of those wins being in 2020. In that five-fight stretch, Holland was able to knock out Anthony Hernandez, Joaquin Buckley, Charlie Ontiveros, and Ronaldo Souza. He also has a split decision win over Darren Stewart in that five-fight stretch.

Holland is currently 8-2 in the UFC with his only two losses being a decision to Thiago Santos and a submission loss to Brendan Allen. 17 out of Holland’s 21 wins are finishes with 11 of them being knockouts and six of them being submissions. Holland has never been knocked out in his career and has only been submitted twice. Holland is a black belt in Brazilian Jiujitsu and a second-degree black belt in Kung Fu.

Derek Brunson (21-7)

Brunson normally did his fight camps at Jackson’s MMA but has recently switched to Sanford MMA. Since the transition, Brunson is 3-0 and has wins over Elias Theodorou, Ian Heinisch, and Edmen Shahbazyan. Brunson has never been submitted in his career but has been knocked out in five of his seven losses. His five knockout losses include Isreal Adesanya, Ronaldo Souza twice, Robert Whittaker, and Yoel Romero.

Derek Brunson is a former Division two NCAA wrestler, and a brown belt in Brazilian Jiujitsu under Renzo Gracie. 12 of Brunson’s 21 wins are by knockout and three of them are by submission. His striking has significantly improved since moving to Sanford MMA but was best put on display in his most recent win which was a knockout over rising star Edmen Shahbazyan.

UFC Vegas 22 Fight Card

Main Card:

  • Derek Brunson vs. Kevin Holland
  • Gregor Gillespie vs. Brad Riddell
  • Tai Tuivasa vs. Harry Hunsucker
  • Adrian Yanez vs. Gustavo Lopez
  • Song Kenan vs. Max Griffin
  • Cheyanne Buys vs. Montserrat Ruiz

Preliminary Card:

  • Marion Reneau vs. Macy Chiasson
  • Leonardo Santos vs. Grant Dawson
  • Trevin Giles vs. Roman Dolidze
  • Montel Jackson vs. Jesse Strader
  • Julia Avila vs. Julija Stoliarenko
  • Bruno Silva vs. JP Buys

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My name is Michael Lynch. I’m originally from Long Island, NY, but I reside in Columbia, Sc. I’ve been covering MMA for almost two years now. I’ve covered events such as Island fights and the PFL. I also have a YouTube channel where I do fight companions and UFC fight previews. I have recently started to train in mma and would like to have my first fight in 2020. I believe that as a journalist I need to experience what these fighters go threw, in order to understand their POV.

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