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#3 Welterweight: Kevin Holland vs. Daniel Rodriguez

Kevin Holland will fight just two weeks after his win over Anthony Hernandez

Although there have been a handful of fighters to do it in the modern era, it still takes a certain amount of guts to step into the Octagon twice in a month. Kevin Holland will join that list of fighters here, as he last saw action on May 16th, taking out Anthony Hernandez in a flurry of violence in just over 30 seconds.

Essentially, it makes sense for him to fight here; he probably needs money, the UFC need bodies for these shows, and he clearly took no damage in the Hernandez fight. So why not? If ‘Trailblazer’ can pick up a win here, while he won’t vault into title contention, it’ll do him a world of good in terms of his overall career with the UFC.

The odd part? Holland fought Hernandez at 185lbs and from all reports, this fight will take place at 170lbs. Is the idea of losing 15lbs in that period of time – after already completing a training camp – a little worrying? Almost certainly, yes.

To make matters stranger, while Daniel Rodriguez’s UFC debut came at 170lbs, he’s fought most of his career at 155lbs. That means that Holland will definitely be the bigger man – but whether it means that Rodriguez will have an advantage down the stretch is a definite question.

‘D-Rod’ is a well-rounded fighter, and his UFC debut saw him choke out a battle-hardened veteran in the form of Tim Means. Of his 11 wins, only one has come via decision; he’s got 6 KO’s and four submissions to his name.

However, Holland clearly has the advantage when it comes to experience. Both men debuted in MMA in 2015, but ‘Trailblazer’ has 6 UFC outings to his name, and even survived three rounds with the terrifying Thiago Santos.

For me, the question here is this: will Holland, after his weight cut and after fighting just two weeks ago, have enough to really push the pace and outwork Rodriguez over 15 minutes? I’m not convinced he can take out ‘D-Rod’ in a rush, and while I’d give him the advantage physically and in terms of experience, if he tires out then Rodriguez – who has a bunch of late finishes to his name – could take over.

It’s a tight one to call, but I’m going to go with the more proven fighter in Holland to squeeze out a decision – but I won’t be surprised if Rodriguez manages to take over in the later rounds and finds a way to finish.

The Pick: Holland via unanimous decision