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VANCOUVER – Kevin Holland is not counting out Brendan Allen at UFC Fight Night 262.
Allen (25-7 MMA, 13-4 UFC) is a slight underdog in his middleweight matchup against Reinier de Ridder (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in Saturday’s main event (ESPN+) at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Holland was submitted by both Allen and De Ridder in the UFC.
Despite Allen stepping in on short notice and having lost two out of his past three fights, Holland is picking him to beat De Ridder, who is on a five-fight winning streak.
“Man, RDR is strong,” Holland told MMA Junkie on Tuesday. “The dude’s a straight refrigerator when you get in there with him. But that being said, Brendan Allen has that Louisiana dog to him. If he’s the underdog, I’m willing to put my money on him. If the numbers were dead even, and I had to tell somebody to pick, I’d say just go ahead and go with RDR. I feel like it’s the safer bet.
“But that being said, I don’t like betting against Brendan Allen. Brendan Allen’s a dog, he’s good, he knows he’s good, but I think sometimes he gets in there and some old habits pop out, but Brendan Allen’s f*cking good. So, I think we can really see an upset. I think Brendan Allen can get the job done.”
Holland (28-14 MMA, 15-11 UFC) co-headlines UFC Fight Night 262 when he meets rising welterweight contender Mike Malott (12-2-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC).
