Preview: UFC Fight Night 173 ‘Brunson vs. Shahbazyan’ Main Card

THAT. IS. IT!@TrevinGiles finishes Neto in round 3 with a BEAUTIFUL 1-2! Impressive!#UFCFresno pic.twitter.com/AHokwzqYWl

— UFC (@ufc) December 9, 2017

Middleweights

Kevin Holland (17-5) vs. Trevin Giles (12-2)

ODDS: Holland (-210), Giles (+175)

Holland has had a successful UFC career to date in terms of wins and losses, but more importantly, he is one of the most entertainingly unpredictable fighters in the promotion. Holland kicked off his UFC career by attempting a flying triangle choke against Thiago Santos at UFC 227, and that about sums it up. Holland may not always choose the smartest idea that is floating around in his head, but he is always making something happen, for better or for worse. That finally came back to bite him against Brendan Allen late in 2019, but the “Trailblazer” rebounded nicely in May, scoring a 39-second win over Anthony Hernandez. Holland was briefly booked for an attempt at a 14-day turnaround that would also have seen him move down to welterweight, but an injury scuttled those plans. He returns here against Giles, who looked like a prospect to watch immediately upon his 2017 debut. While “The Problem” has some potent offensive skills, losses to Zak Cummings and Gerald Meerschaert showed that Giles’ lack of respect for his opponent’s offense can come back to burn him. Giles rebounded with a narrow win over James Krause in February to get himself off the cut line, but he faces a tough matchup in Holland. There is certainly the chance that Holland charges directly into a knockout blow, but his aggression should immediately turn this into a sloppy affair; and it seems inevitable that one of the two will try to take this to the mat in short order, at which point Holland’s slipperiness and Giles’ lack of defense should make things difficult for the latter. The pick is Holland via first-round submission.

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