UFC middleweight contender Kevin Holland says that his coach, former UFC fighter Travis Lutter, wants him to fight two more times in 2020.
Holland has been one of the most active fighters on the UFC roster during the COVID-19 pandemic era. Dating back to May, Holland has fought four times and he’s won all four fights in impressive fashion. In May, Holland knocked out Anthony Hernandez in the first round at UFC Jacksonville. Holland then returned in August at UFC Vegas: Lewis vs. Overeem and defeated Joaquin Buckley via KO, winning a 50k bonus for his efforts.
In September, Holland fought for the third time in 2020 when he picked up a decision win over Darren Stewart at UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Woodley. He then fought for the fourth time this year this past weekend when he submitted short-notice replacement Charlie Ontiveros at UFC Fight Night: Hall vs. Silva. Holland won another 50k bonus for his impressive injury-inducing submission win. And then following the fight, Holland trash-talked UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, who was a guest at the event.
While the unranked Holland won’t be fighting for the title anytime soon, what he’s done so far in 2020 going 4-0 has been impressive. And with two months left in the year, there are still plenty of cards that he could make an appearance on. Speaking to Matt Serra and Jim Norton on the UFC Unfiltered podcast, Holland said that he wants to fight two more times in 2020 and is being encouraged to do so by his coach, former UFC fighter Travis Lutter.
“Travis (Lutter) texted me this morning and said, ‘two more times would be nice Kevin.’ I said, ‘okay, let’s do it,’” Holland said.
“Look, I’m feeling good. (I want to fight) twice.”
Riding a four-fight win streak, Holland is looking to break into the top-15 at middleweight. Looking at the rankings, most of the current top-15 are booked for upcoming fights, but there are a few available. No. 10 ranked Chris Weidman would be a real good test for both guys, as would the No. 12 ranked Omari Akhmedov. Of course, Holland could opt to take another short-notice fight with someone who is unranked just to stay busy and make more money. As he said during the interview, it’s going to be a good Christmas for the Holland’s.
Do you think Kevin Holland will fight at least once or twice before 2020 is up?