Preview: UFC Vancouver ‘de Ridder vs. Allen’

Welterweights

Kevin Holland (28-14, 1 NC; 16-11, 1 NC UFC) vs. Mike Malott (12-2-1; 5-1 UFC)

Odds: Malott (-115); Holland (+100)

The hardest-working man in show business is back at it again, as Holland puts in his fifth Octagon appearance of 2025 against perpetual up-and-comer Malott.

Since coming to prominence in 2020 by winning five UFC fights in a single calendar year, Holland has not only accepted his nature as a fighter but actively steered into it, for better or worse. He has stated explicitly that he would like to emulate Donald Cerrone, and frankly he has succeeded. Like “Cowboy,” Holland is an “anyone, anytime, anywhere, any weight” fighter who is generally exciting to watch, will always struggle to string together enough wins to contend for a title, but is a fan favorite nonetheless.

At his best, Holland is an accurate, rangy kickboxer with underrated power who can snipe foes from the outside or blast them with knees and elbows inside. As a tall, skinny fighter who employs a lot of kicks, his takedown defense is poor, but he is one of the few fighters who is actually dangerous when he meets takedown attempts with a front headlock.

As a grappler, Holland is a dangerous submission artist from any conceivable position, and can deliver lethal ground-and-pound when given the opportunity, but the ground game is where Holland’s penchant for division hopping comes to bear. As a welterweight, Holland can be taken down, but he is a handful, constantly attacking, making his foe uncomfortable, creating scrambles and finding ways to get back to his feet. At middleweight, Holland can be taken down, and too often he gets stuck there, unable to get out from under bigger, stronger grapplers.

This bout is at welterweight, which is usually a good sign, as Holland frankly seems to take himself and his career more seriously at 170. Still, if there’s a welterweight outside the rankings who could conceivably manhandle Holland like Derek Brunson or Roman Dolidze, it might be Malott, whose burly frame is shocking in a man who used to fight at featherweight.

I don’t know who is the best Canadian fighter in the UFC right now—probably Jasmine Jasudavicius—but Malott is definitely the most Canadian, as this will be his fifth straight fight in his native country, all of them on main cards including two co-main events. “Proper” is a big, powerful athlete who, it must be said again, is hard to reconcile with the fellow who once fought Hakeem Dawodu, and he possesses well-rounded skills. On the feet, he throws punches in combination, employs hard leg kicks, and while his hand speed is just average for the division, he has good power.

Malott is a solid wrestler with a nice shot from the outside as well as effective clinch takedowns that make use of his strength and persistence. He is more effective as a grappler when he initiates the takedown and ends up in top position, where he has heavy ground-and-pound and is equally comfortable taking his opponent’s back or working for topside submissions.

Malott is the slight favorite here, and his routes to victory are clear: Crowd Holland, then take him down rather than hang around in the clinch and get kneed in the face. There is every chance that he does that, and Holland makes it worse for himself by talking and joking from full guard instead of, you know, trying to get back up. The pick here, however, is that we get the “good Holland,” and that should be enough to pull off the slight upset. Holland by decision in a fight where he stays mobile, gets back up quickly if he’s taken down, and threatens with guillotine and D’Arce chokes to punish, or at least discourage Malott’s takedown attempts.



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de Ridder vs. Allen
Holland vs. Malott
Vera vs. Zahabi
Fiorot vs. Jasudavicius
Gibson vs. Aori
Nelson vs. Frevola
The Prelims