The 2020 Heavies Awards - Breakout Fighter of the Year - WINNER: Kevin Holland!

Who is the Breakout Fighter of 2020?

  • Total voters
    339
  • Poll closed .
TempleoftheDog said:
Holland

Though, I expect some to vote for Borz, just because that’s what the whole Khabib fanbase does. Except he broke out, then broke back in. If you get my drift.
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Deadwing88 said:
Obviously Holland.. and it shouldn't be close.
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It depends—what is a breakout fighter? To me it’s one whose performances allow them to break through from being unranked (or lower-ranked) or unknown into a new level of ranking or notoriety.
Khamzat broke through enough to be booked against the #3 guy. When did Holland get a fight with someone ranked #3? He hasn’t yet. I totally get that the Edwards fight falling through really sucks, but the question of which of these fighters broke through to a greater degree seems easy enough to answer. It’s Khamzat Chimaev.
 
Zebra Cheeks said:
Wow I expected it to be close, I did not expect it to be THIS close
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I went with Kalinn Williams. I really enjoy his style. I looked forward to his fights this year and still do look forward to seeing him next year more than anyone else.
I know he may be a bit limited in his skills but I see plenty of potential in him. He seems like a real natural born fighter, much like Khamzat. I just enjoy watching fighters like Williams way more.
 
BFoe said:
It depends—what is a breakout fighter? To me it’s one whose performances allow them to break through from being unranked (or lower-ranked) or unknown into a new level of ranking or notoriety.
Khamzat broke through enough to be booked against the #3 guy. When did Holland get a fight with someone ranked #3? He hasn’t yet. I totally get that the Edwards fight falling through really sucks, but the question of which of these fighters broke through to a greater degree seems easy enough to answer. It’s Khamzat Chimaev.
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The difference is that last step of a ranked opponent is really important. Kevin Holland made it happen and got a ko of the year candidate. Chimaev..his fell through. Which sucks, and it’s not his fault. But I’m not giving someone credit just for getting a fight booked...they need a W. Especially in a case like Khamzats where many critique his strength of schedule so far. I needed to see that last fight and I didn’t get to. So for me, it’s not enough
 
Frank McEdgar said:
I went with Kalinn Williams. I really enjoy his style. I looked forward to his fights this year and still do look forward to seeing him next year more than anyone else.
I know he may be a bit limited in his skills but I see plenty of potential in him. He seems like a real natural born fighter, much like Khamzat. I just enjoy watching fighters like Williams way more.
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Ah yeah I could see that. At the end of the day if you pick someone because you prefer their style the most, can’t rip it right? He was super exciting that’s for sure. Strong addition to the roster
 
BFoe said:
It depends—what is a breakout fighter? To me it’s one whose performances allow them to break through from being unranked (or lower-ranked) or unknown into a new level of ranking or notoriety.
Khamzat broke through enough to be booked against the #3 guy. When did Holland get a fight with someone ranked #3? He hasn’t yet. I totally get that the Edwards fight falling through really sucks, but the question of which of these fighters broke through to a greater degree seems easy enough to answer. It’s Khamzat Chimaev.
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Borz does NOT deserve to be fighting the number 3 WW fighter after exactly 1 (ONE) UFC fight at WW against a guy that probably isn’t even in the top 200 in the world.

This is 100% UFC fuckery, and should never be repeated again. The UFC is just riding Khabib’s popularity with Muslims, and fans of seemingly any fighter from that area of the world. And trying to create the next superstar, by any means necessary.

I usually agree with, and respect your opinions. But, I couldn’t possibly disagree more than I do with this one. This is all about money, and nothing more. The UFC even extorted Edwards into taking this fight. Yet, you’re actually trying to say his one win has earned him his fight? Or that Holland somehow hasn’t earned at least an equal opportunity?

Nope.
 
Zebra Cheeks said:
The difference is that last step of a ranked opponent is really important. Kevin Holland made it happen and got a ko of the year candidate. Chimaev..his fell through. Which sucks, and it’s not his fault. But I’m not giving someone credit just for getting a fight booked...they need a W. Especially in a case like Khamzats where many critique his strength of schedule so far. I needed to see that last fight and I didn’t get to. So for me, it’s not enough
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Yeah it’s tough. In Khamzat, we have a fighter that no one knew a year ago and now everyone does.
A year ago almost no one knew who Holland was, and now...more people do, I guess? Not Khamzat levels of popularity though. Khamzat went from nobody to being booked to main event a Fight Night, to fight the #3 dude, and ostensibly get a title shot off of one ranked win if it had happened. That’s a pretty crazy breakout fighter.
If we look at hype and media coverage, there’s no doubt that Khamzat’s performances caused him to be more hyped and paid attention to than Holland. So while I’m totally gutted that the Edwards fight didn’t happen, to me we can still answer the question of who broke through more. But I agree that it’s a tough choice. Depends on your criteria.
 
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TempleoftheDog said:
Borz does NOT deserve to be fighting the number 3 WW fighter after exactly 1 (ONE) UFC fight at WW against a guy that probably isn’t even in the top 200 in the world.

This is 100% UFC fuckery, and should never be repeated again. The UFC is just riding Khabib’s popularity with Muslims, and fans of seemingly any fighter from that area of the world.

I usually agree with, and respect your opinions. But, I couldn’t possibly disagree more than I do with this one. This is all about money, and nothing more. The UFC even extorted Edwards into taking this fight. Yet, you’re actually trying to say his one win has earned him his fight? Or that Holland somehow hasn’t earned at least an equal opportunity?

Nope.
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I didn’t address the question of whether it was deserved at all. I never said that. Personally I think it’s too high of a ranked opponent as well.
But it’s not random fuckery, it’s happening because of the hype and attention that Khamzat’s performances this year generated. It didn’t happen to any other fighter—including Holland—because their performances didn’t generate the interest.
 
Hating ass tricks ass scallywags up in here
 
BFoe said:
Yeah it’s tough. In Khamzat, we have a fighter that no one knew a year ago and now everyone does.
A year ago almost no one knew who Holland was, and now...more people do, I guess? Not Khamzat levels of popularity though. Khamzat went from nobody was booked to main event a Fight Night, to fight the #3 dude, and ostensibly get a title shot off of one ranked win if it had happened. That’s a pretty crazy breakout fighter.
If we look at hype and media coverage, there’s no doubt that Khamzat’s performances caused him to be more hyped and paid attention to than Holland. So while I’m totally gutted that the Edwards fight didn’t happen, to me we can still answer the question of who broke through more. But I agree that it’s a tough choice. Depends on your criteria.
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This is the same argument I’ve been having all week on these awards. For me it’s not just about popularity. It’s also about the actual level of accomplishment. Just because Khabibs fight was the highest coverage and highest platform doesn’t make him triangle from mount, the most dominant position in mma, more impressive then a modified neck crank from bottom. Right?

I guess for me I’m not taking into account the casual fan base, because I’m not casual. I’m basing the award off of an educated audience that understands what they are looking at, and what’s happening. A hardcore fan understands a ko of the year candidate over jacare is a huge deal, and worth much more than khamzats big ko. But if you’re evaluating based on exposure, I agree you’ve picked the right guy
 
BFoe said:
I didn’t address the question of whether it was deserved at all. I never said that. Personally I think it’s too high of a ranked opponent as well.
But it’s not random fuckery, it’s happening because of the hype and attention that Khamzat’s performances this year generated. It didn’t happen to any other fighter—including Holland—because their performances didn’t generate the interest.
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The UFC purposely created the interest. They gave him that 2nd fight after 10 days. Lots of fighters have had amazing debuts. How many of them were just handed the opportunity to fight again on a card a week or 2 later?

Sure, he had those 3 great fights. But, he’s just following the yellow brick road the UFC has laid at his feet. Why didn’t they do the same for Holland, or countless other fighters?

My opinion is that it’s because those fighters weren’t Muslim. They don’t come from that area of the world. They don’t say “Smesh”. And they aren’t associated in any way with Khabib, and his rabid fanbase. Which is exactly what this whole paragraph is about.

This is the UFC hype, and star making machine running harder than it ever has before as far as I can tell. I don’t see why they didn’t just bump Burns, and give Borz the TS. One win over a complete nobody gets you ranked 15th, and a shot at number 3.. Why stop there?
 
Zebra Cheeks said:
This is the same argument I’ve been having all week on these awards. For me it’s not just about popularity. It’s also about the actual level of accomplishment. Just because Khabibs fight was the highest coverage and highest platform doesn’t make him triangle from mount, the most dominant position in mma, more impressive then a modified neck crank from bottom. Right?

I guess for me I’m not taking into account the casual fan base, because I’m not casual. I’m basing the award off of an educated audience that understands what they are looking at, and what’s happening. A hardcore fan understands a ko of the year candidate over jacare is a huge deal, and worth much more than khamzats big ko. But if you’re evaluating based on exposure, I agree you’ve picked the right guy
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It depends on the award though. I agree with you about Sub of the Year. But this specific award is Breakout Fighter of the Year. And it’s not solely exposure for me, but this is why in my first post in this thread I asked “what is a breakout fighter?” To me, it’s a fighter whose performances put them in a whole new eschelon of contendership, in such a way that they become Must See TV. Khamzat did that this year imo, whereas Holland didn’t quite. Although he fought more times, and fought a higher ranked opponent in Jacare, can we honestly say he broke out of the pack to the degree that Khamzat did? For me, I don’t think so.

TempleoftheDog said:
The UFC purposely created the interest. They gave him that 2nd fight after 10 days. Lots of fighters have had amazing debuts. How many of them were just handed the opportunity to fight again on a card a week or 2 later?

Sure, he had those 3 great fights. But, he’s just following the yellow brick road the UFC has laid at his feet. Why didn’t they do the same for Holland, or countless other fighters?

My opinion is that it’s because those fighters weren’t Muslim. They don’t come from that area of the world. They don’t say “Smesh”. And they aren’t associated in any way with Khabib, and his rabid fanbase. Which is exactly what this whole paragraph is about.

This is the UFC hype, and star making machine running harder than it ever has before as far as I can tell. I don’t see why they didn’t just bump Burns, and give Borz the TS. One win over a complete nobody gets you ranked 15th, and a shot at number 3.. Why stop there?
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Why isn’t Omari Akhmedov headlining then? Why didn’t Rustam Khabilov? Khamzat was willing to fight days apart, in multiple weight classes, and did so without taking damage, in dominant fashion, and promoted himself effectively. Yes, the UFC is hyping him big time, but they’re really just capitalizing (and expanding) on the hype that Khamzat already had generated.
It’s one thing to feel that his fight with Edwards is too much too soon, but if you think he’s only getting the buzz that he has because he’s Muslim then I think you’re doing him a great disservice.
 
Voted Chimaev due to the "Discovery" part in the definition of Breakthrough seeing as i've been watching Holland since 2018, he was even on the main card of UFC 227.

I prefer Holland though as a fighter, and would vote him higher in Fighter of the Year.
 
Khamzat had a fun summer, but Holland talking to Jacare about a dream he had the night before while Jacare was in top position and then KOing him dead from the bottom might have been the best thing in MMA in 2020, and it was a pretty fun year all around.
 
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