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Kevin Holland has been one of the most active fighters in the UFC in 2020. The middleweight sensation will be fighting for the fifth time in 2020 this weekend, as he prepares for a tough outing against a veteran in Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza.
In the lead-up to the fight, Sportskeeda had the opportunity to catch up with Holland as part of the UFC 256 virtual media day, and the man himself discussed a host of topics.
Kevin Holland on how Jacare Souza fight came together
Kevin Holland was initially set to face Jack Hermansson on December 5th. However, a COVID positive test, which eventually turned out to be a negative result, forced Holland out of the fight.
Instead, Holland swapped places with Marvin Vettori for UFC 256 and explained how his UFC 256 fight against Jacare came together after all this:
"When they said I had COVID, I was like 'dang that sucks', so by the next day I was like what's the verdict gonna be? And I asked my manager and they mentioned something about Jacare. So I hit Mick Maynard up on Instagram like, 'Yo, what's up with the alligator?' He was like, 'Yeah, you could take the Jacare fight, you think you'll feel good in a week?' And I said I will feel fantastic, it's about time I became an alligator catcher. So, now, here we are getting ready to catch an alligator. Legendary alligator at that. It's gonna be phenomenal."
Kevin Holland on being active throughout 2020
UFC 256 will mark Kevin Holland's 5th fight of 2020. Despite a very bizarre year, Holland plans on staying active and would happily fight on multiple occasions next year, as well.
"Man it's always a goal to keep myself this active no matter what the year brings. I like being active, it's fun being this active. Nobody wants to warm up the bench, I'm not a benchwarmer, so to be in the game and to be out here, once every other month has been nice. I really enjoyed it, you can do this again next year."
Kevin Holland on Jacare Souza possibly being his toughest UFC opponent so far
Jacare Souza is a well-established name and certainly the biggest name Kevin Holland will be facing in 2020. However, Holland believes that Souza isn't his toughest challenger in the UFC so far and is yet to face his toughest opponent.
"No, not at all. I don't know, it's still to come."
Kevin Holland on possibly re-booking the Jack Hermansson fight after this weekend
Kevin Holland's goal is to fight and he will continue to do so, as long as the UFC asks him to. The talented middleweight contender did put Derek Brunson on notice but wouldn't back-off from re-booking the Hermansson fight in the future.
"Yeah, if that's what they want me to. I'm down for whatever they want me to do, I'm not the type of person that really asked for too much. Like I'm saying earlier, I gotta ask for anything, I'm asking for Derek Brunson, he's ahead of me, as well. Other than that, I'm not asking too much asking for anything. Just asking that they continue to keep me on the roster and they continue to let me fight, that's the only thing I ask for."
UFC 256 goes down this weekend at the UFC Apex and will be headlined by a flyweight title showdown. Other fights also include the likes of Tony Ferguson, Junior dos Santos, and Kevin Holland.
