UFC Fight Night 227 will see Alexa Grasso defend her flyweight title against Valentina Shevchenko in their rematch. Even though this will be the main event, given it’s a title fight, many would argue a more exciting bout will be the co-main event of the evening. In the battle preceding the title fight, Kevin Holland, fresh off his win against Michael Chiesa, will take on Jack Della Maddalena.
Unfortunately for Holland, he might be going into this fight with a curse on his back. A fan recently discovered that each of the last 6 fighters to have beaten Michael Chiesa went on to lose their very next bout. Kevin Holland, the seventh fighter to beat Chiesa, might become another victim of the curse when he takes on Maddalena in Las Vegas this weekend at UFC Noche.
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The last six fighters to beat Chiesa include Joe Lauzon, Jorge Masvidal, Kevin Lee, Anthony Pettis, Vicente Luque, and Sean Brady. Holland, who beat Chiesa via a D’Arce choke only 2:39 into the first round, will look to extend his winning run to four. That might be a tough task against Maddalena, who is unbeaten in the UFC with 5 straight wins. As such, he is one of the most hyped prospects in the UFC, given his superior boxing technique.
Adding the curse to the hype around Maddalena might make life difficult for Holland over the weekend.
Kevin Holland will need to rely on his wrestling to stop Jack Della Maddalena
There is a reason Maddalena is so revered by fans so early in his career in the UFC. His explosive strength and technical prowess in boxing allowed him to win 4 straight fights in the UFC via a first-round knockout. Unfortunately, Maddalena does have one big hole in his game, which is his performance on the mat.
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As such, Kevin Holland holds a big advantage over his opponent in the form of his superior grappling. Therefore, unless this fight turns into a slugfest, Holland would be able to grab the victory. If the fight does stay off the mat, Maddalena can knock the daylights out of Holland before he gets his bearings.
As a result, it is imperative for Holland to keep his distance, and set up takedowns using feints and combinations. This should be doable for Holland, given his superior reach over Maddalena, which is a massive eight inches. Holland is also the more durable of the two and the more explosive and athletic. Will this give him a clear advantage against Maddalena? and derail the Maddalena hype train?
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