UFC middleweight Kevin Holland earned the nickname "Big Mouth" from UFC president Dana White during an appearance on Contender Series in 2018. Even in the middle of his fight against Will Santiago Jr., Holland didn't stop talking.
Since then, Holland's cockiness has gone up exponentially. The 28-year-old from Fort Worth, Texas, went 5-0 in 2020, tied for the most wins in a calendar year in UFC history. In his most recent bout, in December, Holland knocked out jiu-jitsu legend Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza with punches -- from bottom position on the mat.
To say Holland is riding high right now would be an understatement. And that confidence helps to propel him.
"I don't think people realize how big of an attribute it is," Factory X head coach Marc Montoya said of the effect unbridled confidence has on a fighter. "Right now, one of Holland's biggest attributes is he's got that championship mentality. He's like, 'It doesn't matter who's in front of me, it's just a body.'"
Holland will face the biggest test of his career Saturday when he fights Derek Brunson at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas. Brunson is a UFC stalwart whose only losses in the Octagon came against former middleweight champions or title challengers. At age 37, the Wilmington, North Carolina, fighter is nine years older than Holland. But he is no gatekeeper. Brunson, who is No. 9 in the ESPN middleweight rankings, took out top prospect Edmen Shahbazyan last August to extend his winning streak to three.
Brunson vs. Holland is a pivotal battle in the 185-pound division. Will the red-hot Holland emerge as a legitimate contender? Or will Brunson stop another surging young fighter and cement himself as a force in the weight class? ESPN asked several of the top coaches in MMA for their analysis and predictions.
Tyson Chartier, New England Cartel coach
I'm going with Holland. I just think he's on a good streak right now. He's super, super confident. If there was a kryptonite matchup for him, it would probably be Brunson, but Holland is just in a great mindset, and I have to take him.
Holland is so creative. Look at how well he did on the ground with "Jacare." Yeah, he got taken down, but right away he was threatening. I don't think Brunson will be able to overwhelm Holland. Holland is good with footwork and has good enough striking to make those wrestling entries dangerous for Brunson.
I wouldn't even be surprised if Holland submitted him. Brunson can put himself in position to be submitted. You saw what Holland did with "Jacare" when he was on his back -- he immediately threw up a triangle. I do think Brunson is going to get takedowns, but Holland is the kind of guy that is going to make you work even harder when he's on the bottom.
I think Holland will get the finish, maybe after the third round. I think Brunson will get tired, he's going to start getting more desperate, and then, when things open up, Holland is going to catch him.
Marc Montoya, Factory X head coach
Brunson has shown that he can face adversity and come back and win. He's also shown that sometimes facing that fast striking style is not that amazing for him, matchup-wise. Holland is pretty confident, and why wouldn't he be? He's shown that on the ground and on the feet, he's pretty comfortable. I feel like stylistically Holland is a tough matchup for Brunson. You've got a long, fast, accurate striker in Holland, and you've got Brunson, who is a vet who has been around the block.
Holland kind of reminds me of Brunson when Brunson was coming up, in terms of his attitude, his demeanor, his swag. That's not a bad thing. I think he's looking at a little bit of a mirror in this one.
Holland is long and does a good job of using his range. He showed recently that when he's on the ground with someone that's an exceptional jiu-jitsu practitioner, in "Jacare," he's not afraid to get after it and finish it. Holland has got to be riding on cloud nine right now. I wouldn't say that "Jacare" is in his prime, but he's still an exceptional fighter and is going to give anyone a tough task. Holland made pretty quick work of him, and that's a big deal.
For Brunson to win this fight, he stalls Holland out, negates Holland's striking and puts him on the cage, wears him down a little there. He's got to put him on his back and get control. Can he do it? Yeah, for sure. I just don't know if Brunson can navigate through that range and do it consistently. The key to his success is for sure wrestling. What kind of shape is Brunson in to wrestle for five rounds? Brunson has a good chin and he can crack, too, but he's absolutely got to keep Holland on his toes. If Holland is going forward, it's going to be a long night for Brunson.
I'm leaning toward Holland. I think the way Holland is surging right now is tough to beat. It's stylistically a tough matchup for Brunson.
Santino DeFranco, Fight Ready head coach
Holland is coming off the year of the century. He's got a lot of momentum behind him. He's kind of the star in this fight. It's obvious the UFC likes him and is building him up. Then you have Brunson, who the UFC treats a bit like a stepping-stone. They probably hoped Shahbazyan would beat Brunson and catapult from that. Brunson shot down that idea pretty quickly. But I think they're trying to do the same thing with Holland. A win legitimizes Holland. I just don't think that's going to happen. I think Brunson stops the Holland train in its tracks.
Holland has a crafty, dynamic striking style. He will beat a lot of people. Brunson doesn't have a lot of major holes in his striking where he gets clipped. I think Brunson is going to be able to take Holland down. Brunson was calm against Edmen. He wasn't swinging and going nuts. I think if he goes out there like he did against Edmen, he'll be relaxed and won't get hit with stuff. Then, when he's ready to show his wrestling, grappling and clinch game, it'll be his fight before long.
Brunson will hang on you. He'll take your soul. He'll drag you and drag you and drag you until it feels like you're in water and you're like, how the hell did I get here?
Look at strength of schedule. Holland has a lot of steam right now, but Brunson has fought a lot of solid dudes, like champion Israel Adesanya and top contender Robert Whittaker. A big question will be whether or not Brunson gasses out. Three rounds, I don't think he has an issue. In five rounds, does he have enough in his gas tank?
Brunson is one of the best in the division. From a coaching standpoint, I would never bet against Henri Hooft from Sanford MMA. I think Brunson will win most likely by decision or a late stoppage, maybe something on the ground. I could even see Brunson clipping him in the third or fourth round, then jumping on his back and choking him out.
Eric Nicksick, Xtreme Couture MMA coach
My biggest concern for Brunson would be him fighting this one emotionally, which I think he has done in the past. I think in most cases that has not worked out in his favor. It seems like he's gotten in trouble trying to take guys' heads off, like against Adesanya and Whittaker. He seems to have corrected that in recent fights against Shahbazyan and Ian Heinisch. But Holland has this under-the-skin mentality. He likes to poke and prod and take opponents out of their game. It's what Holland does well, and it works even more against a guy like Brunson.
From a technical perspective, Brunson has the southpaw stance and better wrestling. He's better served using takedown against the cage that will negate some of the knees and stuff coming up through the midline from Holland. Holland is at his best in space. He has good movement out of both stances. I held pads for him a few weeks ago and came away thoroughly impressed with his creativity and movement.
I think Kevin can get Brunson by keeping him at range. He needs to keep his back off the cage. If that happens, I think it's a pretty clear, cut-and-dried win for Kevin Holland. I think he can catch Brunson coming in and put him away. I say Kevin Holland in three. His fight IQ is kind of overlooked. He uses his creativity in areas that people think are bad positions, but his control over his own body and ingenuity are his best attributes.
Sayif Saud, Fortis MMA head coach
Holland is a mental giant. He's the kind of guy who can walk into the cage right now and fight with no warmup and get the win. He just loves to fight. He's a master of the art of being calm in the chaos. He's always talking to people in there, telling them, "Good job." None of that is fake.
It's really his ability to be so calm in there, that he's having fun, that makes Holland so dangerous. I cannot tell you how dangerous that is. When you're having fun and just hanging out, you don't get tired.
Holland has an 81-inch reach and a great chin. He can take a shot. He's so relaxed all the time; he can roll with those shots really well. He does that at the "A" level. His mental game, his physical durability, his reach, his size, his cardio -- there are huge attributes he has. Holland is nobody to mess with. He's always been that guy. I saw Kevin often coming up here on the local Texas scene.
At one point, it looked like Brunson had hit his ceiling. He was kind of hit or miss. But in reality, he's proved everyone wrong with his last two fights. He has shown a better version of himself. When Holland loses, he usually loses on the ground, either by submission or decision. Brunson can get him there. I think that's really what he'll look to do.
It's going to be really interesting to see if Brunson can control and beat Kevin for five rounds. I'm not saying he can't beat him in spots, but the thing is Kevin is dangerous all the time. And because of that, I give him the edge in this fight.