Jack Hermansson believes the ground game is the key to beating Kevin Holland

UFC middleweight Jack Hermansson believes that the ground game is the key to beating Kevin Holland when the two clash later this year.

Hermansson was originally scheduled to fight Darren Till on December 5 at a UFC Fight Night event in Las Vegas, but Till withdrew due to injury and was replaced by Holland. Hermansson is a top-five fighter but decided to accept the fight against an unranked opponent. On paper, this looks like a great fight for the fans even if Holland isn’t ranked just because of what could happen if the fight between these two hits the ground.

Both Hermansson and Holland coming off of a submission win in their last respective bout, with Hermansson tapping out Kelvin Gastelum with a heel hook on Fight Island and Holland injury Charlie Ontiveros with a submission at a recent UFC event in Vegas. Hermansson spoke to MMAjunkie.com heading into the fight and said that despite Holland being a BJJ black belt on the mat, he believes the ground is his path to victory.

“He looks pretty technical, but at the same time, I gave a lot of black belts trouble, and I really, really believe in my skills, and I know that if I get him to the ground, he’s gonna have a rough day for sure,” Hermansson said.

“I’m gonna go in there, I’m gonna go after him, and it’s gonna be a first-round finish. Probably ground and pound again, good ol’ ground and pound. I’m gonna remind the world what I can bring to the table. People have been watching some of my submission skills lately. It’s time to get those fists into action again.”

With the winner of this fight figuring into the title talks in the UFC middleweight division, this is a crucial moment for both men. A submission win would be absolutely massive for either guy here, but in a fight between two BJJ black belts, maybe it stays standing.

Do you think Jack Hermansson will submit Kevin Holland?