Kevin
Holland was an afterthought when he joined the
Ultimate Fighting Championship roster in 2018, but in the
four-plus years since, he has emerged as one of the promotion’s
most dependable performers.
The “Trailblazer” will look to break into the Top 15 in the
welterweight division when he locks horns with
Stephen
Thompson in the
UFC on ESPN 42 headliner this Saturday at the Amway Center in
Orlando, Florida. Holland has compiled a 10-5 record inside the
Octagon. However, the
Travis
Lutter protégé finds himself on the rebound after submitting to
a brabo choke from
Khamzat
Chimaev in the first round of their UFC 279 pairing on Sept.
10. Thompson, meanwhile, climbs into the cage on the heels of
back-to-back losses. He last appeared at UFC Fight Night 199, where
he wound up on the short side of a three-round unanimous decision
against
Belal
Muhammad on Dec. 18.
As Holland and Thompson approach their forthcoming battle at 170
pounds, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to
this point:
39: Years of age for Thompson, who was born on Feb. 11, 1983 in
Simpsonville, South Carolina.
7: Thompson wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for
44% of his career total (16). His list of UFC victims:
Johny
Hendricks,
Jake
Ellenberger,
Robert
Whittaker,
Chris
Clements and
Daniel
Stittgen. Thompson holds one other win by submission (6%)—he
dispatched Marques Worrell with rear-naked choke at a Fight Party
show in 2018—and eight more by decision (50%).
365,000: Dollars in post-fight bonuses banked by Thompson across
his 17 appearances inside the Octagon. He has been awarded
“Performance of the Night” four times, “Fight of the Night” twice
and “Knockout of the Night” once.
56: Rounds completed by Thompson as a professional mixed martial
artist. He has gone the distance on 14 different occasions and
carries an 8-5-1 record in those bouts.
127: Combined victories between the six men—Muhammad,
Gilbert
Burns,
Anthony
Pettis,
Darren Till,
Tyron
Woodley and
Matt
Brown—who have defeated Thompson. They sport a .707 cumulative
winning percentage at 127-52-2.
30: Years of age for Holland, who was born on Nov. 5, 1992 in
Riverside, California.
13: Holland victories by knockout or technical knockout, accounting
for 57% of his career total (23). His list of victims:
Alex
Oliveira,
Ronaldo
Souza,
Charlie
Ontiveros,
Joaquin
Buckley and
Anthony
Hernandez. Holland owns six other victories by submission (26%)
and four more by decision (17%).
123: Significant strikes landed by Holland before he submitted
John
Phillips with a rear-naked choke in the third round of their
UFC Fight Night 141 prelim on Nov. 24, 2018. It established a
personal high-water mark for the
Dana White’s Contender Series alum that stands to this day.
8: Consecutive calendar years in which Holland has fought at least
once. In addition to his 2-1 mark in 2022, he went 4-2 in 2015, 3-0
in 2016, 3-1 in 2017, 4-1 in 2018, 2-1 in 2019, 5-0 in 2020 and 0-2
with one no contest in 2021.
.766: Cumulative winning percentage between the eight men—Chimaev,
Marvin
Vettori,
Derek
Brunson,
Brendan
Allen,
Thiago
Santos,
Curtis
Millender,
Rafael
Lovato Jr. and
Ramil
Mustapaev—who have beaten Holland. They boast a combined record
of 132-40-1.