I love Kevin Holland and I know the whole narrative that his takedown defense sucks is an old one, but its only old because he hasn't fought a wrestler. When he lost to Brunson then Vitori, it was all anyone could talk about. Daniel Cormier even offered to get him out to AKA so he could help him. Since then though the only true wrestlers he fought were Khamzat and Chiesa where he went 1-1. I still think the takedown defense is questionable and because of that, I am picking against him. Kevin is lightyears better striking, but Reinier is huge and can grapple. My real concern on the Reinier side is that he actually gets too aggressive. He was going wild with Meearschaert and if he starts chasing with Kevin, he could have some issues. Just need him to get takedowns and chill without hunting for anything. Reinier is the pick, but we are early days and I may re-asses closer to the fight.
Kevin Holland
Kevin Holland is an accurate and powerful striker who has struggled with takedown defense but has very solid grappling when he is taken down. Other than the wrestling defense, Kevin is a problem for a lot of people. He's a sniper on his feet with great accuracy and range. He can also grapple really well and be a competitive on the ground with his length. He is coming off the loss to Roman Dolidze where it is booked as a TKO but he essentially broke a rib when getting taken down.
Reinier de Ridder
Reinier de Ridder is a former two division champion in One FC. He is a solid grappler with good takedowns and great submissions. He is a very tall guy for the division and uses that length well on the ground. He will strike as well, but isn't very clean. He definitely thrives on the ground and seems a bit out of sorts on the feet. In fact, thats how he lost both of his One FC belts, he couldn't get the takedowns and just could not hang on the feet with a much more powerful striker. He is coming off the submission win over Gerald Meerscaert in his UFC debut.
