Kevin Holland was an afterthought when he joined the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster in 2018, but in the four-plus years since, he has emerged as one of the promotion’s most dependable performers.
The “Trailblazer” will look to break into the Top 15 in the welterweight division when he locks horns with Stephen Thompson in the UFC on ESPN 42 headliner this Saturday at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. Holland has compiled a 10-5 record inside the Octagon. However, the Travis Lutter protégé finds himself on the rebound after submitting to a brabo choke from Khamzat Chimaev in the first round of their UFC 279 pairing on Sept. 10. Thompson, meanwhile, climbs into the cage on the heels of back-to-back losses. He last appeared at UFC Fight Night 199, where he wound up on the short side of a three-round unanimous decision against Belal Muhammad on Dec. 18.
As Holland and Thompson approach their forthcoming battle at 170 pounds, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:
39: Years of age for Thompson, who was born on Feb. 11, 1983 in Simpsonville, South Carolina.
7: Thompson wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 44% of his career total (16). His list of UFC victims: Johny Hendricks, Jake Ellenberger, Robert Whittaker, Chris Clements and Daniel Stittgen. Thompson holds one other win by submission (6%)—he dispatched Marques Worrell with rear-naked choke at a Fight Party show in 2018—and eight more by decision (50%).
365,000: Dollars in post-fight bonuses banked by Thompson across his 17 appearances inside the Octagon. He has been awarded “Performance of the Night” four times, “Fight of the Night” twice and “Knockout of the Night” once.
56: Rounds completed by Thompson as a professional mixed martial artist. He has gone the distance on 14 different occasions and carries an 8-5-1 record in those bouts.
127: Combined victories between the six men—Muhammad, Gilbert Burns, Anthony Pettis, Darren Till, Tyron Woodley and Matt Brown—who have defeated Thompson. They sport a .707 cumulative winning percentage at 127-52-2.
30: Years of age for Holland, who was born on Nov. 5, 1992 in Riverside, California.
13: Holland victories by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 57% of his career total (23). His list of victims: Alex Oliveira, Ronaldo Souza, Charlie Ontiveros, Joaquin Buckley and Anthony Hernandez. Holland owns six other victories by submission (26%) and four more by decision (17%).
123: Significant strikes landed by Holland before he submitted John Phillips with a rear-naked choke in the third round of their UFC Fight Night 141 prelim on Nov. 24, 2018. It established a personal high-water mark for the Dana White’s Contender Series alum that stands to this day.
8: Consecutive calendar years in which Holland has fought at least once. In addition to his 2-1 mark in 2022, he went 4-2 in 2015, 3-0 in 2016, 3-1 in 2017, 4-1 in 2018, 2-1 in 2019, 5-0 in 2020 and 0-2 with one no contest in 2021.
.766: Cumulative winning percentage between the eight men—Chimaev, Marvin Vettori, Derek Brunson, Brendan Allen, Thiago Santos, Curtis Millender, Rafael Lovato Jr. and Ramil Mustapaev—who have beaten Holland. They boast a combined record of 132-40-1.
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