NEWARK, NEW JERSEY – JUNE 07: Kevin Holland of the United States reacts after defeating Vicente … More
Kevin Holland and Daniel Rodriguez both get a quick turnaround for their UFC 318 pay-per-view card matchup. Holland, who is one of the busier fighters in UFC history, enters Saturday’s UFC 318 fight card coming off a June submission win, while Rodriguez heads into the July 19 bout coming off a May knockout victory. We preview the Holland vs. Rodriguez welterweight fight, which sits in the middle of the UFC 318 PPV card.
UFC 318 features a trilogy bout in the main event, as Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier meet in the PPV headliner. Holloway’s symbolic BMF title is on the line. Meanwhile, the fight is expected to be Poirier’s retirement bout.
UFC 318 takes place on Saturday, July 19, at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. The UFC 318 main card streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.
UFC 318 Fight Card Preview: Kevin Holland Vs. Daniel Rodriguez
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY – JUNE 07: Kevin Holland celebrates after a submission victory against Vicente … More
Kevin Holland (28-13-0-1) was 12-3 when he earned his shot at a UFC contract on a Dana White’s Contender Series card in June 2018. Despite getting a win, UFC CEO Dana White did not offer Holland a contract.
However, Holland got the chance to fight for the UFC in August 2018 when Thiago Santos needed a short-notice opponent. Holland has been one of the more active UFC competitors since losing that contest by decision, fighting at middleweight and welterweight.
Holland followed the loss to Santos with an 8-1 run, a stretch that included five victories between May 2020 and December 2020. His last win of that run was a “Performance of the Night” bonus-winning knockout of ex-Strikeforce champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza.
Holland’s career has been up-and-down since the highlight-reel win over Souza. He has a 7-8-0-1 record since then, never winning, or losing, more than two fights in a row.
Holland is 2-2 in his past four outings, losing back-to-back fights to Roman Dolidze and Reinier de Ridder via stoppage before putting together a two-fight winning streak with victories over Gunnar Nelson and most recently, Vicente Luque.
The 32-year Holland’s two recent losses were at middleweight, his wins, both of which earned him a “Performance of the Night” bonus, came at welterweight, where he is the No. 13 ranked fighter.
DES MOINES, IOWA – MAY 03: Daniel Rodriguez is interviewed after his TKO victory over Santiago … More
Daniel Rodriguez (19-5) began his UFC career on a great run. Debuting with the promotion in 2020 with a “Performance of the Night” bonus-winning submission win over veteran competitor Tim Means, Rodriguez went 8-1 in his first nine fights with the promotion. His only loss during that stretch was a decision setback to Nicolas Dalby in Rodriguez’s fourth UFC fight of 2020.
A September 2022 split decision win over Li Jingliang at UFC 279 put him in the co-main event of a UFC Fight Night card opposite veteran gatekeeper Neil Magny. At the time of that scrap, Magny was the No. 13 fighter in the UFC’s welterweight division, while Rodriguez was No. 14. Magny turned back Rodriguez, submitting him in the third round.
Rodriguez followed that setback with a TKO loss to Ian Machado Garry and a decision defeat to Kelvin Gastelum in a fight that was contested at middleweight after Gastelum had weight cutting issues.
Rodriguez has bounced back from that three-fight losing skid with a decision win over Alex Morono in October 2024 and a TKO victory over Santiago Ponzinibbio in May. A win over Holland would likely put the 38-year-old Rodriguez back in the UFC rankings.
UFC 318 Fight Card Betting Lines And Movement: Kevin Holland Vs. Daniel Rodriguez
When the betting lines opened for this fight, Holland was the -350 betting favorite over the +285 Rodriguez. The line has shifted. Today, Holland is listed at -450, while Rodriguez checks in at +350.
UFC 318 Fight Card Tale Of The Tape: Kevin Holland Vs. Daniel Rodriguez
Kevin Holland
Age: 32
Height: 6’3”
Reach: 81”
Stance: Orthodox
Daniel Rodriguez
Age: 38
Height: 6’1”
Reach: 74”
Stance: Southpaw
UFC 318 Fight Card Predictions And Picks: Kevin Holland Vs. Daniel Rodriguez
Rodriguez is a good boxer, but he is not as well-rounded or effective as Holland, and that is going to be his downfall in this matchup.
When Holland takes this fighting thing seriously, which he seems to be doing these days as a welterweight, he is a very good mixed martial artists. He is fast, clean and effective as a striker, and aggressive on the mat.
The big question is how does Holland get it done. The thing is, decision, knockout or submission are all viable picks for this matchup. With Holland being a much more effective grappler than Rodriguez, I’m leaning Holland via submission.
UFC 318 Pay-Per-View Card: Holloway Vs. Poirier 3
Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier – Lightweight – For Holloway’s BMF title
Paulo Costa vs. Roman Kopylov – Middleweight
Kevin Holland vs. Daniel Rodriguez – Welterweight
Dan Ige vs. Patricio “Pitbull” Freire – Featherweight
Michael Johnson vs. Daniel Zellhuber – Lightweight
UFC 318 Preliminary Fight Card: Holloway Vs. Poirier 3
Kyler Phillips vs. Vinicius Oliveira – Bantamweight
Marvin Vettori vs. Brendan Allen – Middleweight
Francisco Prado vs. Nikolay Veretennikov – Welterweight
Ateba Gautier vs. Robert Valentin – Middleweight
UFC 318 Early Prelims Fight Card: Holloway Vs. Poirier 3
Adam Fugitt vs. Islam Dulatov – Welterweight
Jimmy Crute vs. Marcin Prachnio – Light Heavyweight
Ryan Spann vs. Lukasz Brzeski – Heavyweight
Brunno Ferreira vs. Jackson McVey – Middleweight
Carli Judice vs. Nicolle Caliari – Women’s Flyweight
We will have more on the UFC 318 Holland vs. Rodriguez bout as fight night nears, as well as live results, reactions, highlights and more for the UFC 318 pay-per-view card on fight night.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/trentreinsmith/2025/07/15/ufc-318-fight-card-odds-picks-and-predictions-holland-vs-rodriguez/