Fort Worth, Texas – The team behind the new business-oriented reality show, Down to Business, has begun production on a series of interviews with various successful people from the world of business and beyond. In each of these conversations, the hosts Jeremy ‘JB’ Yowell and Jamie Knight discuss what motivates individuals to remain competitive and continually push themselves to succeed through adversity.
For their inaugural episode, JB and Jamie sit down to chat with the UFC fighter Kevin “Trailblazer” Holland. He explains how he has remained focused on pursuing a championship title alongside his Trainer/Manager Justin “Cowboy” Adams. They took time away from their busy schedule training for Holland’s upcoming fight against Darren “The Dentist” Stewart in Las Vegas, Nevada, on September 19th.
Describing himself as a “perpetual white belt,” JB Yowell recalls the first time he crossed paths with Holland in an Arlington MMA gym many years ago. The young “spunky” athletic specimen of a young man proved too much for JB as the two grappled on the mat. “It felt like he was the heaviest, strongest, most agile person I’d ever met. I had to ask how he was doing it, but I found out this guy is just talented.”
Few businesses in the world require the mental and physical fortitude necessary to function, and beyond that to flourish, at the highest level of combat sports. The field of competition in the UFC is among the most well trained and disciplined athletes of all sports. Each fighter is looking to gain any trace of an advantage through superior strength, positioning, or mental toughness.
Kevin Holland stands at an impressive 6’3″, weighing in at 185 pounds, seemingly built to fight with an extraordinarily long reach. However, he knows that raw talent alone will never be enough to rise to the champion level in such an intensely competitive world. With Adams by his side through the many ups and downs of a fighter’s career, these two gentlemen know ambition requires putting in work to meet the challenges he must overcome.
Mark Twain famously said, “Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never work a day in your life.” The sentiment rings true for Holland as well, despite working in an environment that often involves breaking armbars and the occasional counterpunch to the face. When asked what drives him to succeed, he explains, “It is better than cleaning restrooms,” recalling helping his grandparents with their cleaning service as a kid. If his motivation ever wavers, he’s got those memories to push him back into the gym – sometimes as many as four sessions a day.
After a variety of odd jobs, Holland says fighting in the UFC is his dream job. “I always used to get into scuffles. Now I get paid to scuffle; this is the life to live.” A grinder by nature, Holland admits that his frequent workout sessions in the ring might not always make for a happy body, but the hustle keeps his head in the game. Working out with his friends is his happy place. The byproduct of his commitment to practice is fearless confidence. His belief in himself is most readily demonstrated by his constantly flowing trash-talk. UFC President Dana White has taken to calling him “The Mouth.”
Holland adds, “Some fighters talk more on Instagram or at the weigh-in.”
Sometimes his verbal antics get the better of his opponents as his trainer Adams explains, “They’re like, ‘What does he know that I don’t?’” Starting in Kung Fu and spending his time sparring in the streets, Holland doesn’t get nervous or feel fear. If anything, the buzzing pre-fight energy makes him chat more. The only fighter who strikes fear in his heart would be former Heavyweight Champion Mike Tyson, who is currently preparing to return to the ring in his early 50s.
As his reputation continues to grow, the UFC is heralding him as a superstar in the making. His September fight will be another step in that process. With further success, Holland is excited to expand his frontier beyond the ring and into the entrepreneurial world. The cleaning business initially started by his great grandparents has always been an inspiration. That company continues today as a testament to his family’s hard work. He’ll utilize the same competitive drive and uncompromising desire crucial to finding success as a business owner.
Look for the episode to find out more about how Kevin Holland takes care of business inside and out of the ring. JB gets Holland to brandish his famous gift for gab when he asks what the fighter has to say to his next opponent, Darren “The Dentist” Stewart. “Let’s see how good a dentist he truly is.” Check the Down to Business channels to hear more compelling conversations with JB and Jamie.
