Throughout his 40-fight career to date, Kevin Holland has demonstrated that he’s not afraid of a challenge.

On Saturday night in his latest test inside the cage, Holland takes on the returning Icelandic grappling phenom Gunnar Nelson in a featured bout as part of the UFC’s return to London. The fight is seen in some quarters as a difficult one for Holland, particularly given the evidence from Holland’s first-round submission loss to Dutch fighter Reiner de Ridder earlier this year.

Nelson is heralded as one of the welterweight division’s best submission grapplers — but Holland says that he can outwit the Icelander once the cage door closes.

“I’m excited. Gunnar is a hell of an opponent,” Holland told the media, including The Mac Life, in London on Thursday. “Gunnar is a full-blown mixed martial artist, so I’ll just take what the defence gives me and I’m pretty sure the defence will give me something.”

Holland takes his job seriously. Winning, of course, is part of it — but so too is delivering the types of performances that justify fight fans’ forking over the hard-earned cash to witness it. And as he explains it, his dedication to the role means that he will fight anyone. Even a reporter.

“I get paid to fight. I get paid to entertain people,” he said. “The number one goal is to entertain people. The second goal is to fight but I can’t entertain people if I’m not fighting so they go hand in hand.

“I’m interested in fighting everybody underneath the sun. I mean, if you [a media member] sign up for the UFC and want to fight I’ll fight you. A fight’s a fight, that’s how I get paid.”

And upon hearing that the challenge was accepted, Holland said he was game.

“Alright, well we can go to the locker room right now.”