At 30 years of age, Kevin Holland is starting to take his UFC career much more seriously. If Saturday's UFC 291 pay-per-view card opener is any indication, that means bad things for his future opponents.
Holland (25-9, 1 NC) showcased improved takedown defense to stifle Michael Chiesa en route to a first-round submission victory via D'Arce choke inside the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
The victory was Holland's second straight dominant finish in 2023 after knocking out Santiago Ponzinibbio with one punch in April. And after years of flip-flopping wins and losses while taking big risks in terms of last-minute matchmaking, Holland appeared to have turned a corner in terms of maturity and preparation.
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"I got a full-blown wrestling coach now," Holland said. "I have always had a great corner and a great crew, I just needed to be a lot more patient, that's all. I'm 30 years old now. I'm grown, I'm mature. I missed kids being born. I have gone through all kinds of shit to be here for you guys and I absolutely love it."
Chiesa (18-7) snapped a nearly two-year layoff fueled by injuries and failed to get his offense going en route to a third-straight defeat. The 35-year-old grappler, who has moonlighted of late as a UFC television analyst, saw his early takedown attempts met with counter uppercuts from Holland to keep him honest.
KEVIN HOLLAND BY SUBMISSION 😨@Trailblaze2top submits Chiesa in Round 1! #UFC291 pic.twitter.com/5x3pJL3uOT
— UFC (@ufc) July 30, 2023
Once Holland's takedown defense forced the fight to a consistent standing position, he relied on his length and explosiveness to hurt Chiesa with a flying knee. After the pair of welterweights spilled to the ground, Holland locked in a D'Arce choke to force a quick tap at 2:39 of the opening round.
Chiesa was submitted via D'Arce for the third time in his UFC career after Jorge Masvidal (2013) and Vicente Luque (2021) pulled off the same feat. But this time, Holland admitted afterward that his jumping knee didn't quite have the effect it appeared to.
"I'm going to be real with you guys, that knee didn't land," Holland said. "When Mike feels like he is in danger, he does bad things and I was able to take advantage of that. Had Neil Magny been a better and smarter fighter when they fought, he would have taken advantage of that, too."
Despite improving to 4-2 since returning to the welterweight division in 2022, Holland said after the fight he's considering moving back up to 185 pounds
"I'll take whatever they give me next, but you guys already know one thing: I only came down to 170 for a BMF belt," Holland said. "If there is going to be no more BMF at 170, I'm shipping my ass right back to 185. I like to eat steak and have sex to make weight."
