'So many fights I don't remember' - UFC's most active fighter

UFC seasoned Kevin Holland is erstwhile again preparing to return to nan octagon arsenic he faces Vicente Luque connected 7 June.

Fighting retired of Texas, Holland is known for his short turnarounds and his conflict successful New Jersey is nary different.

Luque will beryllium Holland's 21st conflict for nan UFC since 2020, making him nan company's astir progressive competitor during this period.

Having made his UFC debut successful 2018 - a determination nonaccomplishment against Thiago Santos - Holland catapulted to fame successful 2020 because of his activity.

Despite constricted events because of nan Covid-19 pandemic, Holland managed 5 fights passim 2020 - winning each 5 and equalling nan grounds for astir UFC wins successful a almanac year.

For immoderate fighters, 5 bouts successful a twelvemonth simply isn't imaginable - but for 'The Trailblazer', this is thing new.

"My full profession I've ever been beautiful active. You're an athlete, you can't beryllium an jock for 40 years, you tin only beryllium it for truthful long. So return advantage and wish for nan best," he told BBC Sport.

Holland's adjacent conflict will beryllium his 41st master bout successful 10 years - connected 3 occasions he has competed 5 aliases much times successful a azygous year.

"Between ace matches successful jiu jitsu, Muay Thai, MMA, I'd conflict 7 to 8 times a year. I've ever fought a lot, ne'er really beryllium connected my butt excessively much," he added.

"I've had truthful galore fights I don't retrieve nary of them."

Luque will beryllium Holland's 3rd UFC conflict of 2025, astir precocious defeating Icelandic fable Gunnar Nelson successful March.

Before that, Holland suffered a disappointing first-round nonaccomplishment to Reinier de Ridder successful January - conscionable 3 months aft he was pulled from a conflict aft suffering from a surgery rib.

"I fought against De Ridder astir apt a small faster past I should've done. At nan extremity of nan day, you only study from being successful there. Experience is nan champion coach and I thin to get rather a spot of experience," he said.

"As soon arsenic I was patient to spell it's consecutive backmost successful nan gym. It's simple, I for illustration to enactment successful location and enactment active.

"I don't really request overmuch clip successful betwixt fights, 2 days is typically each a man needs."

His changeless fighting isn't nan only logic for fame wrong nan UFC - his antics wrong nan cage person besides won him a number of fans.

Notorious for speaking to his opponents while fighting, Holland astir famously asked UFC fable Khabib Nurmagomedov for "wrestling advice" during an brushwood pinch Derek Brunson successful 2021.

But arsenic he sits loading up his gaming console while sat successful his Texas home, Holland admitted his history of talking wrong nan cage isn't conscionable for intermezo purposes.

"My encephalon goes a batch of places. You ever heard of ADHD and worldly for illustration that? It's not that fighting is boring, it's a nosy sport, but there's a batch of things going done my encephalon astatine 1 time," he said.

"I'm talking to you, I'm still loading up connected nan game, I'm ever doing 300 things astatine 1 time. I'm not bully astatine focusing connected 1 point for excessively long."

With Luque classed 14th successful nan welterweight division, a triumph for Holland would apt bring him backmost into nan apical 15 of nan rankings.

Having gone done a reliable tally of form, this could travel arsenic a immense boost for Holland's early wrong nan company.

But erstwhile asked for advice, Holland admitted he doesn't look excessively acold into nan future.

"I'm conscionable focused connected 1 point only, and that's nan conflict coming up," he said.

"Treat MMA for illustration a existent job. Respect and admit it, perceive to your coaches, and put nan grind in.

"Don't perceive to nan critics, perceive to nan coaches."