NEW ORLEANS – After multiple failed bookings, Daniel Rodriguez is happy to finally fight Kevin Holland.
Rodriguez (19-5 MMA, 9-4 UFC) takes on Kevin Holland (28-13 MMA, 15-10 UFC) on Saturday’s UFC 318 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) main card at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.
The pair were scheduled to fight at UFC 279 in September 2022, but a wild change up resulted in Rodriguez facing Li Jingliang, and Holland taking on Khamzat Chimaev. Holland said he owed it to Rodriguez to eventually fight him, and Rodriguez agrees.
“Definitely – I’ve said it multiple times in my career, because this is actually the third time we’re scheduled to fight,” Rodriguez said during Wednesday’s media day. “The fans want it, I want it, he wants it – everyone’s excited for it. Definitely one of those fights I feel like I had to – I can’t end my career not knowing what would have happened, so it’s a great matchup.”
Rodriguez has rebounded with back-to-back wins after losing three fights in a row. He understands the value in beating a name like Holland, who’s also on a two-fight winning streak.
“It’s huge,” Rodriguez said. “It would definitely be one of the biggest wins of my career. I feel like it’ll put me back in the rankings, and yeah, it’s an amazing fight. I’m going to go out there and try my hardest to win.”
