Kevin Holland has had a heck of a year, and it got even better at UFC 256 when he knocked out Jacare Souza from his back in the very first round.
Kevin Holland attempted to cap off his excellent 2020 with the biggest win of his career against Jacare Souza at UFC 256. Holland ended his 2019 with a loss to Brendan Allen, but has taken advantage of the slew of events that have happened during the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, Holland has gone 4-0 with three stoppages.
After signing with the UFC, Jacare went 9-3 with untimely losses to Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker. A five-round loss to Jack Hermansson sent him to the light heavyweight division, where he was stopped by Jan Blachowicz. Souza returned to middleweight for UFC 256.
Kevin Holland blasted a right straight to start the fight and Jacare immediately shot for the takedown. Holland attempted to sweep him, but Souza held him down. Holland began working for a triangle choke and fired some hard elbows at Souza from his back. Souza passed the guard and Holland used the opportunity to stand up. Souza hung onto his back and pushed him to the fence. Holland turned and began elbowing Souza in the clinch. Souza found an opening to take Holland down into guard and postured up to land some ground-and-pound while Holland was trash-talking. Holland fired back with a right hand from the bottom that stung Jacare. Another one from his back sent Souza backwards and Holland followed up to get the stoppage. A full-on KO from his back. You don’t see that every day.
كيفن هولاند يهزم جاكاري سوزا بالضربة القاضية في الجولة الأولى .. #UFC256 pic.twitter.com/68Gy4Oqav1
— UFC Arab (@UFC_Arabs) December 13, 2020
After the fight, Holland angled for a fight with Khamzat Chimaev next week, saying he’d “bang that boy up” if Chimaev chooses to fight at middleweight. Holland is the third fighter in UFC history to score five wins in a calendar year, and now he’s looking for number six.
Kevin Holland def. Jacare Souza by KO (Seated Right Hook) in Round 1 (1:45)
