By The Numbers: Derek Brunson vs. Kevin Holland

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Derek Brunson and Kevin Holland currently operate on the fringes of title contention in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s middleweight division.

Their immediate fates now intertwined, the two 185-pound hopefuls will face off in the UFC on ESPN 21 headliner this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Brunson enters the match on the strength of a three-fight winning streak. The Sanford MMA export last appeared at UFC Fight Night 173, where he put away Edmen Shahbazyan with punches in the third round of their Aug. 1 encounter. Holland, meanwhile, has rattled off five straight victories. The Travis Lutter disciple last competed at UFC 256 on Dec. 12, when he wiped out former Strikeforce champion Ronaldo Souza with first-round punches.

As Brunson and Holland barrel toward their main event, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:

37: Years of age for Brunson, who was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, on Jan. 4, 1984—the same day that the award-winning sitcom “Night Court” premiered on NBC.

12: Knockout victories for Brunson, accounting for 57% of his professional total (21). In addition to Shahbazyan, his list of victims includes Lyoto Machida, Daniel Kelly, Uriah Hall and Ed Herman. Brunson owns three other wins by submission and six more by decision.

8: Brunson finishes as a UFC middleweight, tying him Souza and Thiago Santos for fourth on the promotion’s all-time list at 185 pounds. Only Anderson Silva (11), Nate Marquardt (nine) and Chris Leben (nine) have more.

5: Sub-minute stoppage victories on the Brunson resume. A 14-second technical knockout of Todd Chattelle at an International Combat Entertainment event in 2010 remains the fastest such win of his 28-fight career. It occurred in Brunson’s fourth assignment as a pro.

138: Combined victories between the six men—Silva, Souza (twice), Israel Adesanya, Robert Whittaker, Yoel Romero and Kendall Grove—who have beaten Brunson.

28: Years of age for Holland, who was born in Riverside, California, on Nov. 5, 1992. Boyz II Men’s “End of the Road,” The Heights’ “How Do You Talk to an Angel,” P.M. Dawn’s “I’d Die Without You,” Patty Smyth’s “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” and Madonna’s “Erotica” were the Top 5 songs on Billboard’s Hot 100 list at the time.

3: Fighters, including Holland, who have recorded five UFC wins in a calendar year. Roger Huerta (2007) and Neil Magny (2014) are the others. “Trailblazer” pulled off the feat in 2020, when he defeated Souza, Charlie Ontiveros, Darren Stewart, Joaquin Buckley and Anthony Hernandez in succession.

9: Promotions in which Holland has competed as a mixed martial artist. He has gone 8-2 in the UFC, 5-0 in Xtreme Knockout, 3-0 in King of the Cage, 1-1 in Legacy Fighting Alliance, 1-1 in Genesis Combat Sports, 1-0 in Bellator MMA, 1-0 in Dana White’s Contender Series, 1-0 in Kickass Productions and 0-1 in the Legacy Fighting Championship.

11: First-round finishes to Holland’s credit, highlighted by a 22-second submission of Aaron Reves in May 2015 and a 39-second technical knockout of the aforementioned Hernandez in May 2020.

.785: Cumulative winning percentage between the five men—Brendan Allen, Thiago Santos, Curtis Millender, Rafael Lovato Jr. and Ramil Mustapaev—who have defeated Holland. They own a combined record of 73-20.