Kevin Holland praises Khamzat Chimaev for being 'very smart' about fights – well, not really

If there’s one thing UFC middleweight Kevin Holland showed in 2020, it’s that he’s willing to fight anyone, anytime. According to Holland, the same can’t be said for Khamzat Chimaev.

Holland was named the 2020 “Fighter of the Year” by MMA Junkie after he won five UFC fights in a record 210 days between May 16 and Dec. 12, capped off by a “Knockout of the Year” candidate against Ronaldo Souza. You don’t rack up that many wins that quickly by being picky about your opponents.

For Holland, therein lies the fundamental difference between him and Chimaev, who burst onto the UFC scene last year with his own impressive 3-0 mark, which included fights at both middleweight and welterweight and a 17-second knockout of Gerald Meerschaert.

“He’s bouncing back and forth to the fights that make the most sense,” Holland said during an appearance on the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast. “So, he’ll go to (170 pounds) for a fight that makes sense. He’ll come back to (185) for a fight that makes sense.

“You know, nothing wrong with it. Good management (for) fighters who fight like that, very smart fighters, I tip my hat off to them, them and their management and their coaches. That’s great. That’s not me. I’d never be that, so props to those guys. But it’s like, you go to ’70 cause this fight makes sense for you, smart move. You go back to ’85 cause this fight makes sense for you, smart move.”

Holland (21-5 MMA, 8-2 UFC) owns a March 2019 split decision win over Meerschaert. Even though he admits he was “impressed” by Chimaev’s quick one-punch KO, Holland won’t give him too much credit.

“I was impressed by the way he knocked out Meerschaert just because he took the smartest route, which was keeping it standing, and I thought the guy who likes to grapple was going to take it to the ground,” Holland said. “But knocking out Meerschaert, after Meerschaert is coming off of losses, you know what I mean? And I know I smacked him a couple of times, I know Deron Winn smacked him a couple of times, and I know Ian Heinisch ultimately landed the last smacking.

“I think if you add up those three people who had decent power and have been smacking him at ’85, the head just isn’t the same that it used to be. He’s even fought Thiago Santos, right? It’s like, you can’t fight all these killers and take these types of head-shots and think that you’re going to be OK. And if Chimaev has a little bit of pop, of course it’s going to look good. I mean, smart. Props to him for taking the smart program every time you fight a guy.”

Chimaev (9-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) hasn’t competed since beating Meerschaert last September. Chimaev was lined up to meet top welterweight contender Leon Edwards, but the fight fell off three times after both men contracted COVID-19 at different times. The most recent cancellation was the result of Chimaev dealing with lingering effects from his case last December.

As for Holland, his 2021 slate will kick off March 20 in the UFC on ESPN 21 headliner against Derek Brunson.