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Kevin Holland was one of the breakout MMA stars of the 2020 calendar year. ‘Trailblazer’ secured five consecutive wins inside the octagon in 2020, tying the record for most UFC wins in a calendar year with Roger Huerta and Neil Magny.
Holland was undefeated in 2020 and entered 2021 on a five-fight win streak. However, his momentum took a hit in his very first fight this year. The striking savant was out-grappled and out-worked by perennial middleweight contender Derek Brunson. Holland ended up losing via unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN: Brunson vs. Holland in March.
Following this, Kevin Holland accepted a short-notice fight against Marvin Vettori at UFC on ABC: Vettori vs. Holland in April. Holland was thoroughly out-grappled by Vettori and lost via unanimous decision.
During a recent interview with Helen Yee Sports, Kevin Holland opened up on the upcoming fight between middleweights Paulo Costa and Marvin Vettori. Holland stated:
“Oh, I think that’s a really good matchup – battle of the roid-heads. I mean, battle of the…uh, I don’t know. Yeah, yeah, good matchup”, Holland said, jestingly referring to the Costa vs. Vettori matchup as a battle between two steroid users.
Additionally, upon being asked who he thinks wins the Costa vs. Vettori fight, Holland replied by saying, “Whoever’s more angry”. (*Video courtesy: Helen Yee Sports; H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)
Watch the full interview below:
Kevin Holland, Paulo Costa, and Marvin Vettori have big fights ahead of them in 2021
Kevin Holland has been working to improve his grappling skills and return to the octagon as a more well-rounded MMA competitor. Holland is set to fight Kyle Daukaus next at UFC Fight Night 193 on October 2.
Meanwhile, Paulo Costa’s most recent fight was a second-round TKO loss against Israel Adesanya in their UFC middleweight title matchup at UFC 253 in September 2020. Costa was scheduled to return earlier this year. ‘The Eraser’ was set to fight Robert Whittaker and was later matched up with Jared Cannonier. However, both fights failed to materialize.
As for Marvin Vettori, his last fight was a unanimous decision loss against Israel Adesanya in their rematch at UFC 263 in June 2021. Vettori came up short in his bid to dethrone Adesanya and is now 0-2 against the reigning UFC middleweight champion.
Costa and Vettori are reportedly set to fight each other at UFC Fight Night 196 on October 23.
