Derek Brunson wanted his next opponent to have a lot of hype behind them much like his most recent one in Edmen Shahbazyan. The young Shahbazyan was thrust into stardom and poised to be the next big thing in the middleweight division, so he was given a chance to prove himself against a staple like Brunson in his first main event outing at UFC Vegas 5.
Brunson was able to temporarily halt the momentum of Shahbazyan, who he ended up finishing in the third round of their fight with strikes. Now, Brunson looks to do the same thing again against yet another rising young star in Kevin Holland.