Kevin Holland is chasing the UFC career fight record, not the title

LOS ANGELES — When Kevin Holland steps into the Octagon against Reinier de Ridder at UFC 311, it will be his 24th fight with the UFC.

Holland, who has navigated between middleweight and welterweight, has fought at a breakneck pace since joining the promotion in 2018, competing no fewer than three times a year while going 5-0 in a remarkable 2020 campaign. Ahead of this weekend’s showdown, Holland told ESPN he has no interest in competing for a world title. Instead, he has set his sights on breaking the record for most UFC fights before his career ends.

“I hope to fight six times this year if they let me,” Holland said. “Maybe seven.”

Holland is tied with Neil Magny for most wins in a calendar year at five. But beyond that, he believes he can eventually overtake Jim Miller’s record of 45 career UFC fights.

Miller is still going strong at age 41, but Holland, 32, could eventually catch up to him if he maintains his current three-to-five-game-a-year pace and would reach the current mark at age 37.

“I’m not fighting for world titles,” he said. “I’m fighting for my financial lifestyle.”

Oddly enough, if Holland were to find himself in a position to challenge for a world title, he would turn it down out of concern that competing would slow his pace.

“There’s too much politics that comes with being a world champion,” he said. “I don’t need it. I never came to the UFC to fight for a world title. I came to get paid. I’ve talked to fighters who are world champions and those who aren’t. I found out what some were and how often they competed, I wouldn’t fight as much as a world champion and I would have to fight less often than I do now.

Holland said he hopes to come out of Saturday’s game unscathed and will immediately fight for a quick turnaround to chase his ultimate goal.

“That’s the only goal I have,” he said of surpassing Miller. “I may not have the most wins in the UFC, but I will definitely have the most fights.”