Derek Brunson has five losses over the past seven years. Every single one of them has come against a former or current UFC champion or perennial contender — Israel Adesanya is the UFC middleweight champion, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza is the former Strikeforce middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker and Anderson Silva are former UFC middleweight champions, and Yoel Romero is a longtime middleweight contender.
No one in the UFC’s 185-pound division has a better strength of schedule than Brunson. On Saturday, Brunson meets the red-hot Kevin Holland in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas. If Brunson wins, he cements himself as a contender. If Holland wins, it’s a signal that he is at the top level of fighters in the division.
ESPN has Brunson ranked No. 9 in the world at middleweight. Holland is attempting to break into the top 10 and earn a signature win for his still-budding career.
Brunson (21-7) has won three in a row. Most recently, he toppled another prospect, Edmen Shahbazyan, in a third-round TKO last August. The North Carolina native, who trains out of Sanford MMA in Florida, sports a 12-5 UFC record but has not yet fought for a title. Brunson, 37, owns wins over Lyoto Machida, Uriah Hall and Chris Leben.
Holland (21-5) tied the record in 2020 for the most UFC victories in a calendar year (five). The Texas native has won five straight — four of those by KO/TKO. Holland, 28, has won eight of nine overall since his UFC debut loss to Thiago Santos.
Also on the card, heavyweight slugger Tai Tuivasa faces late-notice fill-in Harry Hunsucker, women’s strawweight prospects Cheyanne Buys and Montserret Ruiz square off, and welterweight Song Kenan meets Max Griffin.
Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi and Jeff Wagenheim recap the action from Las Vegas.
Watch the fights on ESPN and ESPN+.
Fight in progress:
Lightweight: Grant Dawson (16-1, 4-0 UFC, -200) vs. Leonardo Santos (18-4-1, 7-0-1 UFC, +170)
Results:
Middleweight: Trevin Giles (14-2, 5-2 UFC) defeats Roman Dolidze (8-1, 2-1 UFC) defeats via unanimous decision
Following a closely contested bout, it was Giles who managed to keep a three-fight win streak alive, as he defeated Dolidze via unanimous 29-28 scores.
The difference in the middleweight bout might have been a lead right hand by Giles in the third round, which knocked Dolidze off-balance and forced him to try a desperate takedown. According to UFC Stats, Dolidze actually out-landed Giles in total strikes 75 to 43, but the majority of Giles’ offense was heavier punches to the head, compared to Dolidze’s offensive leg kicks. Giles also scored offense off his back, whenever Dolidze managed to take him down.
Oh wow didn’t see that but I’m not mad ??
— U R I A H H A L L (@UriahHallMMA) March 21, 2021
Dolidze, who was born in the country of Georgia, looked surprised as scores were read, and the fight was certainly very close. Dolidze had success in the grappling exchanges and with the leg kicks, but Giles always responded, whether it was the right hand in the final round, or powerful left hooks in the first and second.
It’s the first loss of Dolidze’s professional career, and he came in with a 2-0 record in the UFC. Giles, out of Houston, improves to 5-2 inside the Octagon, and he’s completely rebounded from a two-fight skid in 2019.
— Okamoto
Men’s bantamweight: Montel Jackson (10-2, 3-2 UFC) defeats Jesse Strader (5-2, 0-2 UFC) via first-round TKO
Jackson goes by the nickname “Quick,” and he showed why in making quick work of a fighter making his UFC debut.
But while Jackson, the biggest favorite on the card at -700, got the TKO just 1:58 into the fight, he did not fight like he was in a rush. He was poised in walking down Strader, absorbing several calf kicks before stepping forward into a clinch, then dropping Strader with a right hook as the fighters disengaged. Strader got up from that one, but when they came together again, Jackson landed a knee, then dropped Strader again with a right hook, prompting referee Keith Peterson to jump in.
That right hand off the clinch tho! ? #UFCVegas22
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) March 21, 2021
“I saw his hands drop down after I kneed him the first time,” Jackson said, “so my next instinct was to allow him to throw a knee and come over the top.”
Jackson once again showed off his accuracy. He came into the bout with the highest striking accuracy in men’s bantamweight history (59.6%) as well as the lowest rate of strikes absorbed (1.28 per minute).
The quick finish got the 28-year-old from Milwaukee back on track after seeing his three-fight winning streak ended last July.
For Strader, who is 29 and from Antelope Valley, California, the loss in his UFC debut halted a two-fight winning streak. Strader missed weight on Friday, coming a pound and a half above the bantamweight limit.
— Wagenheim
Men’s flyweight: Bruno Silva (11-5-2 1 NC, 1-2 1 NC UFC) defeats JP Buys (9-3, 0-1 UFC) via second-round TKO
Silva dropped Buys with a right hand, and Buys rolled to safety. Then Silva put Buys down with a right uppercut, and Buys somehow survived a flurry and made his way back to his feet.
But Silva would not let the resilient Buys off the hook. When Buys got up again, Silva landed a big straight right to send Buys crashing back to the mat, and referee Mark Smith stepped in to call the bout off.
The heavy-handed Silva earned himself a TKO win at 2:56 of the second round in a flyweight bout. It was Silva’s first UFC win.
“I deserve my next contract,” Silva said, adding that he wants to fight against next week. “I belong to this place.”
Great head movement from the security team ? #UFCVegas22 pic.twitter.com/bR2C2z1Xdo
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 21, 2021
Silva, with former UFC double champion Henry Cejudo in his corner, had success in the wrestling and grappling departments in the first round. At the end of the first, Silva crushed Buys with a spinning back fist right at the bell. Perhaps Buys never completely recovered, because Silva was in total control in the second round.
“I know he’s a wrestler, but I train with the best wrestler,” Silva said. “Henry Cejudo was an Olympic champ. … This guy is my brother. He helps me with everything. I live with him in Arizona. So, it’s been a blessing being with him.”
The 31-year-old Silva, a Brazil native, trains with Cejudo out of Fight Ready in Arizona.
Buys, a 24-year-old South Africa native who trains in Dallas, was making his UFC debut
— Raimondi
Still to come:
Middleweight: Derek Brunson (21-7, 21-5 UFC, +150) vs. Kevin Holland (21-5, 8-2 UFC, -175)
Welterweight: Song Kenan (16-5, 4-1 UFC, +175) vs. Max Griffin (16-8, 4-6 UFC, -210)
Strawweight: Cheyanne Buys (5-1, 0-0 UFC, -360) vs. Montserrat Conejo (9-1, 0-0 UFC, +280)
Men’s bantamweight: Adrian Yanez (12-3, 1-0 UFC, -220) vs. Gustavo Lopez (12-5, 1-1 UFC, +180)
Heavyweight: Tai Tuivasa (11-3, 4-3 UFC, -380) vs. Harry Hunsucker (6-3, 0-0 UFC, +300)
Women’s bantamweight: Marion Reneau (9-6-1, 5-5-1 UFC, +180) vs. Macy Chiasson (7-1, 4-1 UFC, -220)