Kevin Holland has announced that he is planning a move down to the UFC’s welterweight division next year.
“I’m taking my talents to the 170lb division,” Holland wrote on Instagram.
The 29-year-old had made a big impression in the middleweight ranks during his first few years fighting for the UFC, racking up an 8-1 record, including an impressive five-fight winning streak in 2020.
However, Holland’s hype train was derailed this year after being dominated on the mat by both Derek Brunson and Marvin Vettori, followed by a bizarre fight with Kyle Daukaus in October that saw him flash KO’d by a clash of heads, only to be allowed to fight on until he was choked unconscious soon afterwards.
A rematch with Daukaus had been scheduled to take place this month, but Holland pulled out due to an undisclosed injury and now appears to be trying to forge a new path to get his career back on track.
This won’t be the first time that Holland has competed at 170lbs though as he actually made his MMA debut at that weight, though it should be noted that in those formative stages of his career he did miss weight several times and fought in catchweight bouts before appearing to have settled at 185lbs instead.
Holland is now working with the UFC’s own Performance Institute to formulate a gameplan to safely bring his weight down in order to make a run in the welterweight ranks in 2022, though at this stage it’s unclear who his first opponent might be.
