UFC Fight Night 178: Covington vs. Woodley - Predictions and Picks

#6 UFC Middleweight Division: Kevin Holland vs. Darren Stewart

Kevin Holland has been one of the UFC's more active fighters during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both of these Middleweights have been very active with the UFC – or have tried to be active – in recent months. So it comes as no surprise that both men only fought a month ago.

Stewart was able to catch Maki Pitolo in a guillotine choke to pick up the first submission win of his career, while Holland looked excellent in knocking out newcomer Joaquin Buckley. That was actually the second TKO win for Holland during the COVID-19 pandemic, as he also TKO'd Anthony Hernandez in just 39 seconds in May.

On paper, at least, this should be a very close fight. Both men hit hard – as is made clear by the fact that they have a combined four KO's or TKO's in the UFC. Both are capable of catching their opponent on the ground, too, particularly with chokes.

They also sport pretty solid gas tanks, pretty solid chins, and have fought a similar level of opponent. Even their UFC records – 5-2 for Holland, 5-5 for Stewart – are quite similar. So is there any area to split them?

The most likely would be in the wrestling department. Although he's shown off some excellent takedowns at points in his UFC career, Stewart is still developing when it comes to his wrestling game. 'The Dentist' – like plenty of British fighters over the years – can be taken down and controlled by a better wrestler, as both Edmen Shahbazyan and Bartosz Fabinski showed.

Holland, meanwhile, is a pretty strong wrestler. Sure, he comes from a kickboxing background and didn't wrestle at a Division I collegiate level or anything like that. But from what I've seen, he seems more adept at taking his opponents down and keeping them there than Stewart is.

'The Dentist' was able to fend off the takedowns of an excellent wrestler in the form of Deron Winn. But it also needs to be noted that Winn, at this stage in his career, is very raw. Almost a pure wrestler, he doesn't have the overall skills needed to truly set up his wrestling game.

This one could honestly go either way, particularly if Holland simply decides to throw caution to the wind and trade-off with 'The Dentist.' However, I'm willing to guess that he'll look to use the main advantage he does have to the best of his ability. Holland by decision is my pick.

The Pick: Holland via unanimous decision