Newark, NJ — Kevin Holland is sticking with welterweight at UFC 316 this weekend, where he enters his third fight of 2025 against Vicente Luque.
There were other fights on Holland’s plate prior to the Luque booking, but it seems they were gobbled up by other figures in the promotion. One would-be opponent was Carlos Prates.
“I had the Prates fight, and then [Ian] Garry’s popular ass came and took it,” Holland exclaimed during Wednesday’s UFC 316 media day. After starting the year at welterweight in a loss against Reinier de Ridder, he rebounded at 170lbs, defeating Gunnar Nelson in March. “I’m used to it, that’s been my whole career. They say ‘kid, we need you,’ ‘I’m there!’ ‘We don’t need you no more.’ ‘See you next week.'”
Still, as consolation prizes go, a pairing with Brazil’s Luque isn’t a bad one. In fact, it’s a fight that Kevin Holland has wanted for some time. “I wanted Vicente Luque the last time I came down to 70, was trying to go for a little run,” he explained. “It was always a name that I liked, so when he finally called my name, I was like ‘sh*t, about f*cking time.’ So here we are.”
“Hopefully he can tap into his old self and show up. It’s like, he usually takes punishment very well and delivers punishment right back. I’m a little longer than some of the guys he’s faced before; I know he’s fought some tall guys, but he’s never fought a long guy like me.”
While Holland was quick to note Luque’s ability to absorb and deliver damage, he also expects not a barn burner, but a fight that is 100% sided in his favor. That boils down to his belief that Luque no longer takes punishment the way he once did. It’s more than just Holland’s own belief, as he feels Luque himself has doubts.
“I’ve seen a couple interviews where he’s said a few things. He doesn’t even believe he takes punishment as well as he used to,” noted Holland. “When a guy’s known for taking punishment and delivering punishment, it’s kind of sad to see that start to fade away.”
Watch the full UFC 316 media day appearance by Kevin Holland above.
