Holland Will ‘Absolutely’ KO Chiesa (But Not Colby)

Kevin Holland is finally working on his wrestling.

And for those MMA fans upset at UFC matchmakers for booking “Trailblazer” against a grapple-heavy welterweight like Michael Chiesa; rest assured, it was Holland who asked for the “Maverick” fight at the UFC 291 pay-per-view (PPV) event this Sat. night (July 29, 2023) inside Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

But that doesn’t mean he’s ready for “crotch-sniffing” Colby Covington.

“We’re gonna grapple. I mean, am I gonna KO him? Absolutely,” Holland said during the UFC 291 media day. “To think that he’s not gonna to grab me before I KO him, that would be ridiculous. Unless I have one of those Derrick Lewis-Curtis Blaydes moments. It would be pretty cool. I said I want to work on my wrestling in the cage against Michael Chiesa, I didn’t say that my wrestling was good enough to beat Colby Covington. You know what I mean? Me and Colby Covington get in there, I still believe I knock him the f*ck out, but he starts sniffing my d*ck and it might be like that for 25 minutes, so that’s just the way it goes.”

Holland has been taken down a staggering 43 times in his UFC career.

The 30 year-old Holland remains unranked in the welterweight division and told reporters he has no desire to pursue a ranked fighter with a victory over Chiesa, who currently sits in the No. 12 spot at 170 pounds. Instead, “Trailblazer” (24-9, 1 NC) will call out “the worst guy that won a ‘Contender Series’ fight” because his goal is to get paid, not to work his way into UFC title contention.

For much more on the upcoming Holland vs. Chiesa fight click here.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 291 fight card right RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+/ABC at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 291: “Poirier vs. Gaethje 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 291 fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.