Kyle Daukaus: We won’t ‘see anything different from’ Kevin Holland

Kyle Daukaus expects more of the same from Kevin Holland at UFC Vegas 38.

Daukaus vs. Holland takes place on UFC Vegas 38’s main card, which will be headlined by Thiago Santos vs. Johnny Walker and take place inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sat., Oct. 2, 2021, streaming online via ESPN+. Holland was taken down repeatedly by Derek Brunson (watch highlights) and Marvin Vettori (watch highlights) across 10 rounds of his last two fights.

LIVE! Stream UFC Vegas 90 On ESPN+

EXCITING MIDDLEWEIGHT MATCHUP! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to its APEX venue in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sat., April 6, 2024, with an action-packed, five-round main event featuring No. 7-seeded 185-pound contender, Brendan Allen, running it back with No. 14-ranked Chris Curtis. “Action Man” — who is filling in for the “freak” injured Marvin Vettori — scored an upset win over Allen back in 2021 (watch it). In UFC Vegas 90’s ESPN+-streamed co-main event, former Featherweight hopeful, Alexander Hernandez, looks to get back on track at the expense of dangerous Octagon veteran, Damon Jackson.

Don’t miss a single second of face-punching action!

• STREAM NOW

“He’s got very, very good jiu-jitsu. I think his jiu-jitsu is kind of underrated. It’s his takedown defense that is his big factor, it’s his kryptonite,” Daukaus tells MMAMania.com. “He can get off of his back very easily and he’s very explosive off the bottom, but I don’t really think we’ll see anything different from him....”

Holland appears to be taking his wrestling training more serious these days. While Daukaus expects new wrinkles of takedown defense from his opponent, the younger Daukaus brother doesn’t foresee overwhelming changes to Holland’s game.

“I was very, very surprised that he was the name that they offered me. Just because he has a number next to his name and I’m coming off a loss against a guy who isn’t ranked. You would figure they would at least give [Phil] Hawes the fight,” he said. “Obviously you can’t turn the fight down. I’m not turning the fight down. He’s got a number next to his name.

“I go in there and beat this guy, then I’m probably waking up on Sunday morning with a number next to my name.”

Chris Daukaus recently told MMAMania.com how one brother winning elevates the other. While that may appear to suggest that sibling losing can hurt the other, Kyle disputes the idea.

“No, the only pressure I think we have is the pressure we put on ourselves. The pressure other people put on us is just noise and it’s kind of pointless. Obviously, winning is great. When you lose, you just take it as a loss. I don’t see it as a bad thing. If I lose, he’s not getting any bad stuff because of it,” Daukaus told MMAMania.com. “And vice-verse. If he were to lose, or anything like that, I wouldn’t get any bad slack from that.”

Finished reading this story? The party doesn’t have to stop. Click here to get more exclusive interviews.