Kevin Holland has had a breakout year so far in 2020. The UFC middleweight has won four fights this year and will look to add to the tally this weekend at UFC 256. While he is becoming a more and more mainstream name in the world of MMA, there was a time, not so long ago, when Dana White didn’t want him in the UFC.

Holland has his first fight as a UFC fighter against Thiago Santos at UFC 227. He took the fight on two weeks’ notice and went three rounds against a fighter who would later give him all sort of troubles to Jon Jones. Holland’s short notice exploits impressed the celebrities in the audience as well as the UFC supremo.

During the post-fight press conference, Dana White shed some light on what led to him respecting Holland, even though he didn’t extend him an offer during Contender Series.

“For those of you that don’t know the story, he was on the Contender Series. He was a talented guy, and he won his fight but he wouldn’t shut up. The entire fight he was talking to me… This guy comes in and is talking s**t the entire fight. So I said I’m not signing this guy. I don’t want him I’m not interested in him,” Dana White said.

“I take it back” – Why Dana White changed his stance on Kevin Holland

Two weeks ahead of UFC 227, the planned fight for Thiago Santos fell through. To keep Santos on the card, the UFC began to aggressively explore replacements. White tried to rope in fighters who had performed well on the Contender Series. However, given the short notice and a dangerous opponent such as Santos, no one was willing to step up to the plate.

This was when Holland squeezed into the picture.

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“I said call ‘Big Mouth’. I want to see if ‘Big Mouth’ takes this fight. [He] Took the fight. Came in and fought the fight. Still talking. In there with Thiago Santos – this beast ranked No. 13 in the world. Took this fight on two weeks’ notice and is talking so much his mouthpiece fell out twice. But he looked good. All the celebrities that were there loved Holland. It’s all they wanted to talk about,” Dana White said.

“Much respect to Holland. He was very impressive. Took that fight on two weeks’ notice against an absolute savage and fought a great fight. He gassed in the third, but he took it on two weeks’ notice. So yeah, I take it back. We will give him the proper time to train, get ready for a fight, and we will give him another fight.”

White kept his word and gave opportunities for ‘Trail Blazer’ to showcase what he is capable of with a full training camp. The Fort Worth, Texas native has so far made excellent use of the opportunities at his disposal. Since dropping the fight against Santos, he has a record of 7-1. Having recently broken into the Top 15 of the divisional ladder, Holland will look to make a jump with a win over Jacare Souza this weekend.

Kevin Holland Absolutely Not Interested in UFC Rankings