Kevin Holland

Is Jacare Souza at risk of being cut after UFC 256?

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Last weekend at UFC 256, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (26-9, 1 NC) returned to the middleweight division after a brief stop at light heavyweight in 2019. Jacare was taking on the surging Kevin Holland (21-5).

Holland had won four fights in a row in 2020, but he was looking for that signature UFC victory over Jacare. When the fight got started, things were going well for Jacare. Souza was able to catch a low kick and take Holland to the ground.

I personally predicted Jacare to submit Holland in this fight. When the fight got to the ground so quickly with both fighters dry, I figured it was bad news for Holland. However, it was quite the opposite.

Holland did a fantastic job of attacking from his back. His jiu jitsu looked slick and Jacare couldn’t get anything going. About 90 seconds into the round, Jacare landed some big shots that caused Holland to smile.

Out of no where, Holland whipped a shot from his back that hit Jacare in the forehead. Jacare was damaged by the shot and Holland got up to finish Jacare against the cage. It was the third straight UFC loss for Souza.

What’s next after UFC 256?

This was a really tough loss for Jacare Souza. At 41 years old, Jacare needed this win badly to keep his roster spot secure within the UFC. Right now, the promotion is going through an evaluation period where they are planning to make some serious cuts.

Yoel Romero was just released by the UFC a couple of weeks ago after fighting for the title in February. As mentioned, Souza is 41 years old and he’s 1-4 in his last five trips inside the octagon.

Given the current landscape of things, there might be a strong chance that we’ve seen the last of Jacare inside the UFC. For the record, I don’t believe that Jacare is done fighting, but I think the promotion might seriously look at cutting ties.

Souza fought the current UFC light heavyweight champion to a split decision a year ago. He’s definitely got something left in the tank, but if you’re a high earning veteran with no path towards the title, the promotion might part ways. Jacare would seemingly fall into that category.

Is Kevin Holland the UFC’s next star?

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Kevin Holland

This past weekend at UFC 256, Kevin Holland (21-5) took on Jacare Souza (26-9, 1 NC) on the PPV main card. It was a big step up for Holland who was looking to finish off 2020 having gone 5-0 inside the octagon.

Holland was originally supposed to face Jack Hermansson a couple of weeks ago. However, he tested positive for COVID and the UFC moved him back to face Jacare. I personally thought that Jacare would be able to get him down and give him problems in their fight.

At UFC 256, the opening moments looked like I was going to be right. Jacare was able to catch a low kick from Holland in the opening seconds and take him down. Once on the ground, Jacare was supposed to have a massive advantage.

One of the things that makes Holland so marketable is his talking inside the octagon. Jacare had him down and blasted him with a couple of massive shots. To those shots, Holland said to Jacare, “Those are great Jacare. I had a dream about this!”

To that, Jacare smiled back at Holland. However, he wasn’t smiling for very long. From his back, Holland whipped a right hand that hit Jacare on the forehead. The shot dazed Jacare and Holland got up and blasted him with a few additional shots to close the show.

The UFC’s next star?

Kevin Holland has put himself on the map here in 2020. The great thing for the UFC is the guy is extremely marketable. He has an incredibly fun fighting style and the guy knows how to sell himself.

Not only is he entertaining while inside the octagon, he puts on a complete show from the walkout to the fight. At UFC 256 he was rapping to the security guard as they walked to the cage. Then proceeded to dance with Jacare before the fight started.

Kevin Holland is knocking on the door of stardom at the moment. The guy just has that it factor about him. He has everything you want in a fighter that you want to market and he’s down to fight anyone at anytime.

After he defeated Jacare, he called out Khamzat Chimaev for a fight this Saturday night. Of course that fight won’t happen, but you have to love the energy from Kevin Holland. I’m very excited to see what 2021 has in store for the UFC middleweight.

Kevin Holland knocks Jacare Souza out at UFC 256

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Kevin Holland

The second fight of the main card at UFC 256 was a middleweight battle between Kevin Holland (20-5) and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (26-8,1 NC). Holland was getting the biggest opportunity of his UFC career to date.

While it’s been a tough year on the world, Kevin Holland has had a sensational year in the UFC. The brash middleweight has gone 4-0 and was looking to continue that tonight. 5-0 is a mark that not many can hit in a calendar year.

On the other side of things was the legend, Jacare. Jacare was looking to snap a two-fight losing streak. His last fight came at light heavyweight against the current UFC champion, Jan Blachowicz. Souza was looking to return to his winning ways at middleweight.

UFC 256 Recap

Round 1

The UFC 256 middleweight clash opened up, Holland threw a big right hand. Holland threw a big leg kick that Jacare was able to catch and takedown Holland. However, Holland did a really good job of working his way back up to his feet.

Jacare pushed him against the fence and was able to get him back down. There was a slight separation and Kevin Holland landed a couple of massive right hands from his back that rocked Jacare. Holland follows up and finishes him off. Massive win for Holland who’s gone 5-0 in the UFC this year.

Kevin Holland def. Jacare Souza by KO – Round 1

UFC 256 Preview: Kevin Holland – Jacare Souza

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Kevin Holland

The second fight on the UFC 256 PPV main card tomorrow night is a middleweight clash between Kevin Holland (20-5) and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (26-8, 1 NC). Holland will be looking to cap off an incredible 2020 where he’s already 4-0.

Kevin Holland has been sensational this year. Holland worked his way into the UFC back in 2018 after winning in Dana White’s Contender Series. His debut fight in the UFC came against former light heavyweight title challenger, Thiago Santos.

Holland lost that fight, but went on to win three straight before being submitted by Brendan Allen last October. In 2020, Holland has looked sensational going 4-0 with three knockouts. His work in 2020 has found him inside the UFC‘s top 15 at middleweight.

Holland will be taking on a legend in this one. Jacare Souza has had a legendary career in MMA. Souza was a world champion in Strikeforce and he holds victories in his career over the likes of Chris Weidman, Gegard Mousasi, Robbie Lawler, and Derek Brunson twice.

The 41 year old has done it all minus capturing UFC gold. Jacare will come into this contest on a two-fight losing streak. However, his last fight was a split decision loss to current UFC light heavyweight champion, Jan Blachowicz.

UFC 256 Prediction

A couple of weeks ago, both of these men were preparing for separate UFC bouts. Holland was preparing for Jack Hermansson and Jacare was preparing for Marvin Vettori. However, Holland’s positive COVID test caused the promotion to switch the fights.

This is a very interesting matchup to break down. On the feet, Holland will definitely have the speed advantage. His striking has looked clean and crisp this year. However, the power advantage will go to Jacare who has a career showing off his knockout power.

On the ground, this fight isn’t close. Jacare is one of the best jiu jitsu practitioners in the world. If Holland wants to walk out with his hand raised at UFC 256, he’s going to have to keep this fight on the feet.

One thing I noticed in the Darren Stewart fight is how Holland faded. If Jacare can use his wrestling and grappling to make this fight dirty, I think he has a real advantage in the second and third rounds.

I think you’re going to see Holland have some success from range early. However, I don’t think he’ll put Jacare away. Instead, I think Souza will be able to wear on Holland and get this fight down to the ground eventually. Once there, I think Jacare will show that he’s still got it.

Prediction: Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) – Round 3

Jack Hermansson was going to fight at UFC Vegas 16 no matter who the opponent was

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It’s been a wild journey for Jack Hermansson (21-5) leading up to the UFC Vegas 16 main event. The promotion’s fourth ranked middleweight is getting his third headlining fight, but he’s had to stay on his toes on who he’d be facing.

Originally, the UFC announced that Hermansson would be taking on Darren Till at UFC Vegas 16. These two men had some fun back and forth over social media and it was a fight that the fans were really excited for.

However, Darren Till sustained an injury and he was forced to pull out of the fight. The UFC went to work and decided to have Hermansson fight Kevin Holland. Holland has made a strong case for fighter of the year going 4-0 in 2020 thus far.

Kevin Holland was nicknamed loudmouth by Dana White because he simply doesn’t stop talking in the cage. Holland was getting the biggest opportunity of his career headlining against a top UFC middleweight like Hermansson.

Hermansson had no issues taking the fight against Holland. Then, last week, Holland tested positive for COVID-19 and he was forced out of the UFC Vegas 16 main event. That is when the promotion turned to Marvin Vettori (15-4-1).

Vettori was scheduled to take on Jacare Souza at UFC 256, but the promotion wanted him to move up. Once again, Hermansson didn’t care about who the replacement was. Without even thinking about it, Hermansson accepted the fight. 

It’s just about a UFC fight for Hermansson

There has been so many cases in the history of the UFC where a fight gets scrapped altogether if one person falls out. Sometimes the UFC can’t find a replacement opponent and other times the main event fighter doesn’t want to fight the replacement.

Hermansson is not one of those guys. He appeared on Ariel Helwani’s MMA show today to talk about the wild ride leading up to this weekend. Helwani asked Hermansson about the opponent changes and if he ever thought of saying no.

“It didn’t matter who it was, you know? As long as I have a fight, I’m all good. I’m here in Vegas to fight and they can put anyone in front of me now,” Hermansson told Helwani.

If you weren’t a fan of Hermansson before, how could you not love the guy after an answer like that. One of the best middleweights in the UFC and he doesn’t care about who the opponent is, he just wants to fight.

Marvin Vettori is no joke and this fight is not expected to be an easy one for Hermansson. However, as he said, he doesn’t care about who the opponent is or how hard the fight will be. For Jack Hermansson, it’s just about getting in there and fighting on Saturday night.

Kevin Holland rebooked against Jacare Souza at UFC 256

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Kevin Holland

It’s turned out to be a game of middleweight musical chairs in the UFC today. Originally, Kevin Holland (20-5) was set to take on Jack Hermansson next weekend in the card’s headliner.

However, it was reported today that Holland tested positive for COVID-19. Thus, the UFC had to move in a different direction. Marvin Vettori was originally scheduled to fight at UFC 256 against Jacare Souza (26-8, 1 NC).

The promotion went to Vettori and asked him to substitute for Holland. After both fighters agreed, the UFC booked a new headliner for next weekend featuring Vettori and Hermansson. However, that left Souza and Holland without opponents.

Well, on tonight’s UFC Vegas 15 broadcast, the promotion announced that Holland will be fighting Jacare Souza at UFC 256. So in the end, Vettori and Holland just ended up swapping places to keep the fights together.

UFC 256’s new matchup

Kevin Holland is on the shortlist of guys who could make the claim that they are fighter of the year. Holland has won all four of his UFC fights in 2020. He’s looked sensational and he’s knocking on the door of the top 15.

A win at UFC 256 over Jacare would put him at 5-0 in 2020 while giving him the biggest win of his career in terms of name. The PPV will be the first time that we’ve seen Jacare since he lost a split decision to Jan Blachowicz last November.

Souza decided to move up to light heavyweight and had a competitive fight with the now champion. However, Souza decided that he wanted to move back down to the UFC‘s middleweight division.

At 40 years old, there’s no telling on how many fights Jacare has left. One thing is for sure and that is that he’s hungry to snap his two fight losing streak. Jacare only has one win in his last four and that was his knockout over Chris Weidman.

 

Marvin Vettori replaces Kevin Holland in UFC Vegas 16 headliner

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Earlier today it was announced that Kevin Holland had tested positive for COVID-19 and was out of his UFC Vegas 16 headliner. Jack Hermansson (21-5) was going to remain in the headliner, but an opponent hadn’t been finalized.

Ariel Helwani was reporting that the UFC was leaning towards Marvin Vettori (15-4-1) as the replacement. Vettori was scheduled to take on Jacare Souza at UFC 256 in just a couple of weeks. However, bout agreements hadn’t been sent out as of this morning.

Well, MMA Junkie is now reporting that the proposed matchup is finalized. The UFC has booked Marvin Vettori against Jack Hermansson in the main event of next Saturday’s UFC Vegas 16 card.

In many ways, this fight is better than the original matchup with Kevin Holland. Unlike Holland, Vettori is in the top 15 of the UFC‘s middleweight division. This is the third proposed opponent for Hermansson for his headliner next weekend.

UFC Vegas 16’s New Main Event

Vettori will go into next weekend as the UFC‘s 13th ranked contender at middleweight. The only man to have gotten the better of Vettori over his past five fights is the current middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya.

This is a massive opportunity for The Italian Dream. Vettori was already scheduled for a big bump up in competition, but getting a headlining spot was something that Vettori simply couldn’t pass up. It also will earn him more props with the UFC.

As mentioned above, this is the third scheduled opponent for Jack Hermansson. Originally, The Joker was supposed to take on Darren Till. This was a huge fight, but it fell through after Till suffered an injury. 

That is when the promotion shifted to the Kevin Holland fight. Holland is a fighter of the year contender having gone 4-0 in 2020. However, today’s news of the positive COVID test has thrown that off.

You have to respect Hermansson for being willing to take on any challenger in his UFC main event. Hermansson is looking to pickup his second consecutive win after dominating Kelvin Gastelum over the summer.

Kevin Holland out of UFC Vegas 16 Main Event

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Kevin Holland

The UFC hits from COVID just keep on coming. Yesterday, we found out tonight’s main event fell out at the last minute due to a positive test with Curtis Blaydes. Now, we have found out that next week’s main event has lost a headliner.

Kevin Holland (20-5) announced this morning via Twitter that he is out of UFC Vegas 16. Holland was scheduled to face Jack Hermansson (21-5) in the main event. This was a massive fight for Kevin Holland.

In October of last year, Holland was submitted by Branden Allen. Since then, he’s gone on an incredible run in the UFC. Holland has won all four of his fights since May of this year. He was on the shortlist for fighter of the year.

Due to an injury with Darren Till, Holland was getting this main event shot against Hermansson. Had Holland been able to defeat Hermansson, he would have likely shot into the top ten of the UFC‘s middleweight division.

For now, his plans for advancement are on halt. However, 2020 has still been a sensational year for Kevin Holland. It’s very rare for a fighter to have the opportunity to go 5-0 in a year. Holland had that chance, but should still be proud of the incredible 4-0 year.

What is the UFC’s Plan?

As of now, the UFC is still planning on having Jack Hermansson fight in the main event next week according to Ariel Helwani. However, an opponent has not been finalized. There is talk of Marvin Vettori stepping in to take the fight.

This would be a sensational matchup for the UFC to make, and you know that Vettori would be down to take the fight. The Italian Dream is currently scheduled to take on Jacare Souza at UFC 256, but there are serious talks of him moving up.

Vettori is looking to really put himself on the map. He’s won three in a row and the last person to defeat him is the current UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya. We will keep following this story.

UFC: Darren Till out; Kevin Holland steps in to face Jack Hermansson

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Kevin Holland

One of the more popular fighters in the UFC‘s middleweight division is out of his main event next month. Per ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Darren Till has been forced to withdrawal from his December 5th main event against top contender Jack Hermansson.

The fight was proving to be a pivotal fight in the fluid middleweight division. However, an injury has derailed the fight. Jack Hermansson really wanted to get another fight in before the year ended. He wanted the UFC to find him a ranked opponent after Till fell out.

However, all ranked opponents that the UFC offered the fight to, turned it down. That’s when the UFC turned to Kevin Holland. The brash middleweight has competed and won four fights since the month of May.

Holland is riding high right now and has even had some back and forth with current UFC champion, Israel Adesanya. This was an opportunity that Holland simply couldn’t pass up when the UFC called. Despite not having a ranking, Holland was willing to fight, and that’s what mattered to Hermansson.

UFC’s New Main Event

Talk about a golden opportunity for Kevin Holland. The UFC loves guys who have the attitude that they will fight anyone at anytime. That is exactly how Holland has acted in the year 2020. If he’s able to win next month, it would be his fifth win since May.

Holland has been knocking on the door of the top 15, but he hasn’t cracked the rankings just yet. He know will be jumping into the deep end of the pool when he takes on the UFC‘s fourth ranked contender in the middleweight division.

This is quite the gamble for Hermansson. Hermansson is coming off of a quick and dominant win against Kelvin Gastelum back on Fight Island. The Till fight was huge for Hermansson, but it’s obvious that the main thing Hermansson wanted to do is stay active.

It’s a very risky move to take on a hot fighter who’s not currently ranked. Hermansson really doesn’t gain a ton from winning the fight, however, he can lose a lot if Holland pulls off the upset. Should make for a very interesting contest.

UFC: Kevin Holland to jump into T15?

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Kevin Holland

This upcoming Saturday on a UFC Fight Night Halloween treat, us fans are fortunate enough to watch Anderson Silva’s final fight — potentially. The middleweight bout with Uriah Hall is everyone’s “if only a few years ago” dream match, but for Hall, this is master versus apprentice and one step closer in his pursuit of the belt. However, another showdown that everyone should be looking out for is that between Kevin Holland (19-5) and Charlie Ontiveros (11-6). Initially scheduled to fight Makhmud Muradov, Holland prepares to fight Ontiveros in his UFC debut.

Kevin “Trailblazer” Holland is one that everyone should already have their eye on by now. Having already won three fights this year, and proven himself worthy of a ranked opponent, Holland is quietly putting together a very solid case. With barking contests between himself and UFC poster child, Khamzat Chimaev, Kevin Holland has made sure that Dana White knows he is always wanting a fight. As of a few weeks ago, Holland wasn’t entirely sure what his next move was going to be. Essentially trying to fight everyone and anyone, a few names tossed around were the previously mentioned Chimaev, Drucis Du Plessis, and Holland himself challenging T10 fighters.

There should already be a strong following behind Holland, as he has gained even more recognition over the past few weeks. Joaquin Buckley’s likely KO of the year on Impa Kasanganay at UFC Fight Island 5 went viral within moments, and shocked everyone watching. Buckley’s knockout got everyone searching his name, and everyone came to find out that none other than Kevin Holland knocked him out back in August with a straight right. The scary thing about Holland is that when he fights, there is no real sense of fear or being overmatched. With him, its all about the element of control and making sure he is the aggressor — and is able to make the first move, and dictate the fight.

While in Holland’s last fight against Darren Stewart, he got the win via decision, he didn’t feel good about it. In his post fight interview, he said he’d be happy to run it back with him and that the win didn’t feel convincing. The possibility of a Stewart fight could be on the table going forward, especially if Holland ends up taking care of business Saturday. With that, there’s also a very real chance Holland will finally get bumped into the T15 rankings assuming he comes out on top. Having already notched three wins in 2020 — KO over Hernandez (05/16), KO over Buckley (08/08), DEC over Stewart (09/19), he looks to extend it to an impressive four wins this year. IF he is to fight again, the chances at having FIVE wins in a calendar year may sound too sweet to pass up for Holland.

Look for Holland to make a statement and throw his name in the running for a top fight next, after his bout with Ontiveros.