Kevin Holland

Holland bounced back at UFC 327 and beat Randy Brown by unanimous decision in a fast, rangy welterweight scrap. The result mattered because it halted the two-fight skid and showed he could still keep another long striker reacting instead of dictating.

Key moments

• Won a unanimous decision on all three scorecards.
• Snapped the two-fight losing streak that had followed the Luque and Nelson wins.
• Closed the fight standing over three rounds against another tall, awkward welterweight.

Mike Malott took a unanimous decision from Holland in Vancouver and extended Holland's skid to two straight fights. It was another competitive three-round outing, but not one where Holland did enough to pull the scorecards back his way.

Key moments

• Lost a unanimous decision after three rounds.
• Dropped back-to-back fights for the first time since the 2021 Vettori and Brunson losses.
• Ended the year still searching for the sharper version that had shown up against Luque and Nelson.

Holland lost a unanimous decision to Daniel Rodriguez in New Orleans in a fight that turned into a late thriller. The defeat interrupted the spring surge and reminded everyone how narrow his margin still is when the action stays chaotic rather than controlled.

Key moments

• Lost a unanimous decision over three rounds.
• Came up short in a fight that swung hard late before reaching the scorecards.
• Followed the Luque finish just six weeks earlier with one of the wilder fights of his 2025 schedule.

Holland beat Vicente Luque in Newark by locking up a second-round front-headlock finish and turning a veteran matchup into a statement win. Choking out Luque mattered because it gave Holland consecutive welterweight wins for the first time in this recent stretch.

Key moments

• Finished Luque by submission 1:03 into round two.
• Used a front-headlock sequence to force the tap after a strong opening round.
• Built on the Gunnar Nelson win and briefly restored momentum after the de Ridder setback.

Holland returned to welterweight in London and shut down most of Gunnar Nelson's offense across a unanimous decision win. It was the kind of veteran, measured performance he needed after the de Ridder loss, especially against a grappler who can usually make opponents uncomfortable.

Key moments

• Won a unanimous decision after three rounds.
• Nearly scored an early knockdown before settling into a cleaner long-range fight.
• Answered the January loss to Reinier de Ridder with a disciplined welterweight reset.

Holland's return to middleweight at UFC 311 ended badly once Reinier de Ridder turned the fight into a grappling match and found Holland's back. The quick submission loss mattered because it halted the small welterweight reset and reminded everyone how risky Holland's style becomes against larger, layered grapplers.

Key moments

• Holland took the bout at 185 pounds against a former two-division ONE champion.
• De Ridder got the fight to the mat and steadily improved position rather than chasing a wild finish.
• The rear-naked choke ended the fight at 3:31 of round one.
• It was a sharp setback after Holland had just gone 3-2 over his previous five UFC appearances.

Holland's short-notice middleweight meeting with Dolidze ended after one round when a rib injury left him unable to continue. It was a frustrating loss because the matchup had only just started to take shape before the corner stoppage cut it off.

Key moments

• Dolidze stepped in for Chris Curtis and met Holland at middleweight.
• The fight was stopped in the corner between rounds rather than by a clean finishing sequence in open exchange.
• ESPN's recap framed the ending around the rib injury that kept Holland from continuing.
• The result dropped Holland to 1-3 across his previous four UFC bouts.

Holland survived an early scare against the charging Oleksiejczuk and flipped the fight instantly once it hit the floor, snapping on an armbar for one of the nastiest finishes of his UFC run. The win was vintage Holland: chaos first, then a sudden opportunistic submission that changed the whole night.

Key moments

• Oleksiejczuk hurt Holland early and nearly overwhelmed him before the grappling exchange turned.
• Holland attacked the arm immediately once the scramble opened the position.
• The official result was a technical submission by armbar at 1:34 of round one.
• Reports afterward focused on just how badly the submission damaged Oleksiejczuk's arm.

Holland was chosen as Michael Page's UFC debut assignment and spent most of the night trying to solve Page's unusual movement and range traps. Page frustrated him over three rounds and won cleanly, making Holland look reactive instead of improvisational.

Key moments

• The fight doubled as Michael Page's long-awaited UFC debut.
• Page's side-on stance and distance management kept Holland from ever setting a comfortable rhythm.
• Yahoo's recap described Holland as increasingly frustrated by Page's movement and shot selection.
• The judges awarded Page a unanimous decision after 15 minutes.

Holland gave Della Maddalena a close, competitive three-round fight in Las Vegas, but two judges leaned the other way in a split decision. It was one of those useful Holland performances that kept him relevant even in defeat because he remained dangerous and hard to separate from the division's sharper boxers.

Key moments

• The matchup played out as a technical but competitive welterweight striking fight.
• Sherdog's scorecards had the bout close enough for one judge to side with Holland.
• The official cards read 28-29, 29-28 and 29-28 for Della Maddalena.
• The loss was narrow enough that it did little to change Holland's reputation as a live underdog against ranked welterweights.

Holland punished Chiesa for forcing grappling exchanges by catching the neck and finishing him inside three minutes. It was a statement welterweight win because Chiesa is supposed to drag people into his game, but Holland met him there and ended it anyway.

Key moments

• The fight ended in the first round at 2:39.
• Holland used a brabo choke to submit a veteran known for his own grappling pressure.
• The win gave Holland a quick rebound after the Thompson loss.
• It was another reminder that Holland's front-headlock game can punish even strong wrestling entries.

Holland and Ponzinibbio spent two wild rounds trading momentum before Holland finally separated with a third-round knockout in Miami. It was one of the better pure action wins of his welterweight run because he had to survive big moments and still produce the clean finish himself.

Key moments

• The matchup was framed beforehand as a likely striker's delight, and it played out that way.
• Ponzinibbio had enough success early to keep the fight volatile rather than one-sided.
• Holland landed the knockout punch at 3:16 of round three.
• The finish re-established him after the loss to Stephen Thompson.

Holland's main event with Thompson produced one of the most entertaining stand-up fights of the year, but Thompson's cleaner kicking game and veteran composure wore him down over four rounds. Holland's corner stopped it between rounds, ending a fight that was action-packed enough to become an obvious Fight of the Night pick.

Key moments

• The bout headlined UFC Orlando and was billed as a striker's delight from the start.
• Thompson repeatedly found Holland with cleaner kicks and counters while Holland kept charging forward.
• The official result was a corner stoppage at the end of round four.
• The fight was widely treated as one of the best action scraps on the UFC schedule that year.

After the UFC 279 card was reshuffled by Khamzat Chimaev's weight miss, Holland ended up drawing the most dangerous replacement fight on the board and was submitted quickly. It was an ugly style collision from the opening seconds, with Chimaev overwhelming him before Holland could create any range at all.

Key moments

• The fight only happened after the event's late-week weight-cut chaos reshuffled the card.
• Chimaev swarmed immediately and never let Holland settle into a striking rhythm.
• The brabo choke finished the fight at 2:13 of round one.
• The result sent Holland from a featured welterweight fight into the worst possible short-notice grappling matchup.

Holland and Means delivered the kind of violent, weirdly technical welterweight fight everyone expected, and Holland eventually took the neck in the second round. Finishing a veteran brawler like Means in a co-main slot was another sign that the move back to 170 pounds had sharpened him.

Key moments

• The fight was elevated to co-main event after another bout fell off the card.
• Sherdog's preview notes framed it as the sort of matchup almost guaranteed to produce bonus-level action.
• Holland locked up the brabo choke at 1:28 of round two.
• The win moved him to 2-0 at welterweight since dropping down from middleweight.

Holland's first welterweight appearance in years got off to a shaky start when Oliveira knocked him down, but he recovered and stormed back to finish him early in the second round. It was an immediate proof-of-concept for the weight-class move because Holland looked dangerous, durable and far more comfortable at 170 once the fight settled.

Key moments

• Oliveira countered Holland in round one and knocked him off his feet.
• Holland had already started building back momentum with low kicks and range work before the first round ended.
• He swarmed for the finish with elbows just 38 seconds into round two.
• The comeback win made his welterweight return look immediately worthwhile.

This fight ended in one of the stranger rulings of Holland's UFC career after an accidental clash of heads was missed in real time and the action continued to a finish. Daukaus initially got the submission, but the outcome was overturned to a no-contest once the head clash was recognized on review.

Key moments

• The bout continued after an accidental clash of heads that clearly altered Holland.
• Daukaus initially appeared to win the fight by rear-naked choke.
• ESPN's follow-up reporting notes the fight was rebooked only after the finish was overturned to a no-contest.
• The official result now reads an accidental-head-clash no-contest at 3:43 of round one.

Holland stepped in on short notice for a second straight main event and spent most of the night being grounded and controlled by Vettori. The loss exposed the same wrestling-control issue that Brunson had just shown a few weeks earlier, only over another full five rounds.

Key moments

• Holland accepted the fight on short notice after Darren Till withdrew.
• Vettori repeatedly grounded him and banked long stretches of top control across the full 25 minutes.
• All three judges scored the fight unanimously for Vettori.
• The defeat made it back-to-back main-event losses after Holland's 2020 surge.

Brunson derailed Holland's breakout run by wrestling him for five rounds and refusing to let the fight stay in the kind of free-flowing striking match Holland prefers. It was a clear style-check loss that interrupted the momentum of Holland's celebrated 2020 calendar year.

Key moments

• The fight was Holland's first UFC main event after his rapid rise in 2020.
• Brunson leaned heavily on takedowns and top control to keep Holland from building his usual striking chaos.
• Holland had isolated moments but never enough sustained offense to flip the scorecards.
• The judges scored it unanimously for Brunson after five rounds.

Holland closed his five-fight 2020 campaign with one of the strangest knockouts in recent UFC memory, putting Jacare away from his back with punches. The finish completed a calendar-year run that turned him from an active prospect into one of the promotion's busiest breakout names.

Key moments

• The knockout came while Holland was underneath Souza in a grappling exchange.
• He rocked Jacare with short punches off his back before swarming to finish.
• The official stoppage came at 1:45 of round one.
• It was Holland's fifth UFC win of 2020, a pace that became a defining part of his rise.

Holland's short-notice headlining opportunity lasted less than three minutes once he slammed Ontiveros and forced the stoppage. It was not his cleanest or most satisfying finish, but it kept his 2020 momentum rolling and showed the UFC was already trusting him with bigger spots.

Key moments

• Holland took over a main-event slot on short notice.
• The fight ended when a slam left Ontiveros unable to continue.
• The official result was recorded as a first-round TKO at 2:39.
• It pushed Holland to 4-0 in the UFC during the 2020 calendar year.

Stewart forced Holland into a scrappier, less comfortable fight than expected, but Holland still escaped with a split decision in Las Vegas. It was one of the narrower wins of his busy 2020 stretch and a reminder that his style can make fights look closer than his talent level suggests.

Key moments

• The fight was competitive enough that one judge scored it against Holland.
• Holland had to rely on rounds won rather than a late finish to get the result.
• The official verdict was a split decision after three rounds.
• It moved him to 3-0 in the UFC during 2020 before the schedule got even busier.

Buckley made Holland work harder than expected, but Holland's composure and range eventually won out in the third round. Finishing Buckley before Buckley became a viral knockout star aged well for Holland's resume and helped anchor the story of his breakout year.

Key moments

• The fight stayed competitive long enough to reach the third round.
• Holland closed the show with a punch just 32 seconds into the final frame.
• The win came before Buckley exploded into wider UFC fame a few months later.
• It was Holland's second UFC victory inside a three-month stretch.

Holland blew through Hernandez in 39 seconds with knees and punches in Jacksonville, kicking off the rapid-fire year that would change his profile. The finish was so quick that it served more as a statement of intent than as a drawn-out test.

Key moments

• The fight ended just 39 seconds into the opening round.
• Holland finished Hernandez with knees followed by punches.
• It was his first UFC win of the unusually busy 2020 calendar year.
• The stoppage launched the five-fight run that made him one of the UFC's most active names.

Allen grounded Holland often enough to turn a competitive fight into a submission win in Boston. The loss mattered because it was another early example of the kind of grappling pressure that could pull Holland away from his preferred striking rhythm.

Key moments

• Allen steadily turned the fight toward grappling rather than long striking exchanges.
• The rear-naked choke ended the bout at 3:38 of round two.
• It was Holland's second UFC loss in his first five appearances with the promotion.
• The matchup foreshadowed the kind of stylistic problems strong top-position fighters could cause him.

Holland had to fight through a competitive, messy middleweight bout with Di Chirico rather than coasting on range. After dropping a close first round and dealing with a possible shoulder issue, he did just enough with his kicks, clinch work and late cleaner shots to take a unanimous decision.

Key moments

• Di Chirico landed a sharp clinch elbow in round one and finished the frame on top after a slam.
• Holland answered with body work, low kicks and a brief power-double takedown in the second.
• The doctor checked Holland's right shoulder between rounds before allowing him to continue.
• He won the fight by unanimous decision after three close rounds.

Holland and Meerschaert spent nearly the entire fight scrambling through takedowns, guillotines and back takes, with neither man holding a clean edge for long. Holland survived the deepest submission scares, did his best damage from top position and escaped with a split decision.

Key moments

• Round one alone featured both men threatening guillotines and rear-naked chokes.
• Holland repeatedly scrambled out of Meerschaert's grappling and answered with punches from mount.
• A low kick briefly dropped Meerschaert early in the third before another scramble reset the fight.
• The official cards were 29-27, 28-29 and 30-27 for Holland.

Holland's UFC debut quickly turned into a violent body-shot clinic against the charging Phillips. After battering him with kicks and knees for two rounds, Holland finally mixed in his wrestling late and took the back for a third-round rear-naked choke.

Key moments

• Repeated body kicks had Phillips doubled over and hurt almost from the opening minute.
• A flying knee near the end of round one drove Phillips to the canvas and produced 10-8 scores.
• Phillips still had moments landing hooks when he could close the distance.
• Holland used takedowns and back takes in round three before finishing the choke at 4:05.

Holland's short-notice UFC debut against Thiago Santos showed exactly why he was intriguing and exactly how raw he still was at that level. He threatened Santos with submissions and briefly stole the second round, but Santos' heavier top game and damage carried the decision.

Key moments

• Holland jumped guard early and came close to catching Santos in an armbar.
• Santos answered with heavy elbows and punches from top position in round one.
• Holland rallied in round two, hurting Santos with a right hand and sweeping to top with a kimura sequence.
• Santos closed strong in round three and won unanimously, with one card reading 29-26.

Holland used the Contender Series slot to show his range, length and willingness to fight at a strange rhythm for the full fifteen minutes. He controlled most of the action with kicks, straight shots and occasional bursts of showboating on the way to a clear unanimous decision.

Key moments

• His reach advantage was obvious immediately, and he mixed kicks with short clinch offense early.
• Round two turned when a right hand wobbled Santiago and Holland followed with an uppercut and flying knee.
• Santiago still had enough success to clip Holland when he got careless in the third.
• All three judges scored it 30-27 for Holland.

Holland needed less than three minutes to turn a takedown attempt into a finish against Dooley on the Bellator prelims. The ending was pure opportunism: he rolled through the shot, caught Dooley diving into the position and snapped on the triangle choke immediately.

Key moments

• Dooley's takedown attempt created the opening rather than putting Holland in danger.
• Holland somersaulted through the shot and landed with the triangle already forming.
• He adjusted quickly and forced the tap without a prolonged grappling battle.
• The submission came at 2:59 of round one.

Holland opened 2018 by going the deeper route against Hayward Charles before finding the stoppage in the third round. The win kept his XKO middleweight run moving and served as a successful title defense before the Bellator call came two months later.

Key moments

• Unlike many of Holland's early finishes, this one reached the third round.
• The official result was a TKO by punches at 3:34 of round three.
• Tapology records the bout as part of XKO 39 in Dallas.
• Secondary record listings identify it as a defense of Holland's XKO middleweight title.

Holland rebounded from the Curtis Millender loss by wiping out Grady Hurley in just over a minute at LFA 21. It was exactly the kind of quick regional reminder he needed before climbing back toward bigger opportunities.

Key moments

• The finish came only 1:24 into the opening round.
• Tapology records the stoppage as knee-and-punches TKO.
• The bout served as Holland's immediate bounce-back after his first LFA main event defeat.
• The quick finish moved him back into the win column before the XKO title-defense stretch.

Millender handed Holland a clear decision loss in the LFA main event and checked the momentum Holland had built on the Texas and California regional circuit. It was a meaningful step-up fight, and Holland came out second-best over fifteen minutes.

Key moments

• The fight headlined LFA 13 in Burbank.
• Sherdog's event page and Millender's record both log it as a unanimous decision for Millender.
• Tapology and secondary record listings classify it as a welterweight bout.
• The defeat interrupted Holland's run before he rebuilt it later in 2017.

Holland's King of the Cage stop against David Gomez ended inside the opening round, continuing the pattern of quick finishes that kept him active across multiple regional promotions. It served as the immediate follow-up to the Geoff Neal win.

Key moments

• The fight ended by first-round TKO at 3:34.
• Tapology lists it on the KOTC: Supernova card in Ontario, California.
• The win came less than two months after Holland's XKO title-defense victory over Geoff Neal.
• It kept Holland's finishing streak alive before the LFA headliner with Curtis Millender.

Holland and Geoff Neal met long before both reached the UFC, and Holland got the better of that first version of the rivalry by stopping Neal late in the third round. The result mattered because it stood out even then as a serious regional win and doubled as an XKO title defense.

Key moments

• The fight reached round three before Holland got the stoppage.
• Tapology records the official finish as TKO at 3:50 of the third round.
• The bout was contested for Holland's XKO middleweight title, with Neal listed as the challenger.
• Later Sherdog coverage still referenced it as the only knockout loss on Neal's record until much later in his career.

Holland returned to middleweight in Dallas and won the XKO title by finishing Jose Alfredo Leija late in the first round. The unusual official method reflected a bout that ended under pressure and strikes rather than with a clean one-shot knockout.

Key moments

• Tapology lists the bout as the XKO middleweight championship main event.
• The official result was recorded as TKO via submission to punches at 4:03 of round one.
• Secondary record listings note it as Holland's return to middleweight.
• The win set up the later title defenses against Geoff Neal and Hayward Charles.

Holland got a cleaner finish in the rematch with Sam Liera, shifting from the earlier striking stoppage to a second-round guillotine. It showed how quickly his regional game was broadening as he moved between promotions and weight classes.

Key moments

• Tapology labels the matchup as Sam Liera vs. Kevin Holland II.
• The rematch ended by guillotine choke at 4:23 of round two.
• The bout was listed at welterweight on the KOTC: Martial Law card.
• It gave Holland a second straight win over the same opponent in 2016.

Holland's first meeting with Sam Liera ended in a second-round punch stoppage and helped restart his momentum after the Rafael Lovato Jr. loss. It also marked his return to welterweight on the regional circuit.

Key moments

• The stoppage came 2:56 into round two.
• Secondary record listings identify the bout as Holland's return to welterweight.
• It was the first of Holland's two 2016 wins over Liera.
• The result moved him back into the win column after his only 2015 loss.

Lovato handed Holland an early-career lesson by taking his back and finishing him in barely more than a minute. The loss came against an undefeated grappling specialist and marked Holland's first middleweight bout as a pro.

Key moments

• The fight ended by rear-naked choke at 1:24 of the opening round.
• Tapology lists it as the Legacy FC 46 co-main event at middleweight.
• Secondary record listings note it as Holland's middleweight debut.
• It was Holland's first professional loss.

Mustapaev beat Holland over three rounds in Abilene and handed him the first decision loss of his career. The result slowed Holland's fast-starting regional run and forced an early reset before the Lovato fight later that year.

Key moments

• Tapology records the bout on the Genesis Combat Sports 4 card.
• The fight was contested at a 175-pound catchweight.
• Mustapaev won by unanimous decision after the full fifteen minutes.
• It was Holland's first professional defeat before the middleweight experiment began.

Holland's first XKO appearance ended with a first-round guillotine over Victor Reyna and continued the all-finishes start to his pro career. The bout showed that the early Holland run was not only about striking stoppages.

Key moments

• The finish came by guillotine choke at 3:44 of round one.
• Tapology lists the bout at welterweight on the XKO 26 card in Dallas.
• It followed Holland's 22-second verbal-submission win only a month earlier.
• The result moved his early pro record to 4-0.

Holland's third pro fight was a 22-second verbal-submission win over Aaron Reves at Border Wars 1. The bout is also a useful early-record note because it was listed as a 174-pound catchweight after Holland missed weight.

Key moments

• Finished Aaron Reves by verbal submission at 0:22 of round one.
• The fight took place at Kickass Productions: Border Wars 1 in Laredo, Texas.
• The source record lists it as a 174-pound catchweight bout after Holland missed weight.

Holland's second pro fight ended almost as quickly as his debut, with punches finishing Jason Perrotta in the opening round. The promotion booked it at a 195-pound catchweight, but the pattern was already clear: Holland was finding finishes early.

Key moments

• The stoppage came 1:36 into round one.
• Tapology lists the bout at a 195-pound catchweight on the GCS 3 card.
• It was Holland's second consecutive first-round pro finish.
• The win moved his record to 2-0.

Holland's professional debut lasted less than two minutes before he punched out Marcos Ayub at XKO 25. It was a straightforward first statement: he turned pro and got a fast finish immediately.

Key moments

• The fight ended by TKO at 1:54 of the opening round.
• Tapology lists it as a welterweight bout on the XKO 25 card in Arlington.
• Secondary record listings identify it as Holland's welterweight debut as a pro.
• It started Holland's career with a first-round stoppage.