Preview: UFC 299 ‘O’Malley vs. Vera 2’

Welterweights

#13 WW | Kevin Holland (25-10, 12-7 UFC) vs. Michael Page (21-2, 0-0 UFC)

ODDS: Holland (-135), Page (+114)

On a card full of fights with high stakes and interesting career narratives, it is nice to just have a bout made for the potential weirdness and excitement of it all. This marks the UFC debut of a former Bellator standout in Page, and it will be fascinating to see what the Brit has to offer in his late 30s. A former kickboxing champion with a background in various striking arts, Page transitioned to mixed martial arts in 2012 and quickly caught Bellator’s eye. It was about a year before he was in the fold, as the promotion built him as a British star. Page’s matchmaking over the years was a point of criticism, as Bellator seemed content to curate his competition in an attempt to add to his highlight reel, but he proved to be competitive at the company’s championship level by the end of his campaign. He went to split decision losses against Douglas Lima and Logan Storley before his Bellator career ended with a quick injury win over Goiti Yamauchi. It is unlikely at this stage that Page can thread the needle to make it to championship contention, but he has the potential for some entertaining matchups on the UFC roster, and the promotion starts with one against Holland.

Holland was not nearly the hyped commodity that Page was upon his arrival—he was not even immediately given a contract after his win on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018—but he became a star for the promotion during the coronavirus pandemic. His trash talk made for some welcome noise in an empty arena, and his willingness to take short-notice fights kept him a going concern as he kept racking up knockouts. An attempt to push him to contender status in 2021 was quite unsuccessful, as “Trailblazer” was clearly undone by his lack of defensive wrestling. Holland then subsequently cut down to welterweight, where he is absolutely massive, and elected to forego a lot of the craft that made him successful at 185 pounds. Much of Holland’s success has come via throwing looping power and hoping the rest sorts itself out, even if he did seem to finally get back to basics against Jack Della Maddalena in September. This is basically a coinflip, as both men should show plenty of their usual bravado while also facing the rare opponent who can match them in terms of reach. Holland does seem a bit more durable and, perish the thought, more capable of breaking out some wrestling if things start to go south, so the UFC veteran gets the nod, even if the result of this fight seems secondary in the grand scheme of things. The pick is Holland via decision.

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O’Malley vs. Vera
St. Denis vs. Poirier
Holland vs. Page
Della Maddalena vs. Burns
Yan vs. Song
The Prelims