‘Big Mouth’ Kevin Holland Wants Leon Edwards on Short Notice

UFC middleweight Kevin Holland took to social media and put the MMA community on notice with a massive call-out. The ‘Fighter of the Year’ candidate responded to the breaking news put forth by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto about his own fight. Holland is targeted to face Derek Brunson in March, but it seems as though Holland is itching for a quick turnaround.

Holland went right after welterweight Leon Edwards, whose most recent opponent Khamzat Chimaev fell out. Holland’s turnaround in March 2021 is uncharacteristically late considering the strength of schedule he likes to maintain. Moreover, fighting Edwards who’s ranked number three at welterweight will inject Holland into a new division.

Derek Brunson is a viable match-up for a title hopeful at 185-pounds. However, there’s no denying that a win over Edwards would bring Holland closer to the belt. The 185-pound division could also very well be stalled for a meaningful period of time. The undisputed king Israel Adesanya has spoken about a move to light heavyweight, and this would create a vacancy in the middleweight division.

Kevin Holland: Surging to the top

‘The Trailblazer’ has certainly made the best use of 2020 going 5-0 in the promotion. This feat has only been done by two other fighters in the modern iteration of the UFC. What’s more, he’s racked up wins over some big names that are beginning to age well on his record. He’s also fresh off a KO win over Ronaldo Jacare Souza that grabbed the attention of fans everywhere.

Furthermore, he didn’t even begin his win streak at the beginning of 2020. Kevin Holland started his run in the middle of the year; this means he could have fought a few more times had he scrapped from January. Given his ‘anytime-anywhere’ mentality, it’s easy to see why Holland doesn’t want to wait till March.

Fighting Leon Edwards on short notice would be an unprecedented move, considering the drop in weight classes as well. However, given the fact that Neil Magny and Michael Chiesa are on the January 20, 2021 card, Holland may well miss out on his call-out.