Kevin Holland is tired of hearing about Israel Adesanya and definitely doesn’t want to take anymore questions about the UFC middleweight champion.
During Thursday’s UFC on ESPN 21 virtual media day, a reporter asked Holland about Adesanya and his team mentioning that Darren Till could be the next contender for his title. The moment Holland heard the name “Adesanya,” he began shaking his head but let the reporter finish his question.
Then he accused Adesanya of using performance-enhancing drugs.
“I’m gonna tell you what I feel about Israel Adesanya, and then you can ask me other questions besides Israel Adesanya. All right?” Holland said. “I think Israel Adesanya has a titty, and he was doing steroids to get that titty. All right? Next question.”
In talking about Adesanya’s “titty,” Holland was referring to last September’s win over Paulo Costa at UFC 253, where Adesanya’s right pectoral muscle looked swollen and droopy compared to his left. Right after Holland served up that opinion, he let loose one more time.
“Guys, I don’t wanna talk about Israel Adesanya. You know what I mean?” Holland said. “You guys always want to talk about Israel Adesanya, and it’s like, he just lost. You know what I mean? He just lost a fight where he got beat up on the feet, and he’s supposed to be the best striker in the sport. And then he got taken down and beat up there.
“You guys don’t talk about that, but you talk about him stepping up a weight class and doing this and doing this and doing that. Then everybody’s gonna view me as the bad guy because I’m up here telling you guys, you guys are f*cking nuts for riding his d*ck so damn hard. Stop riding his d*ck so hard.”
Adesanya failed in his attempt to become a dual UFC champ earlier this month by dropping a unanimous decision to light heavyweight titleholder Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259. It was Adesanya’s first professional MMA loss in almost eight years and 21 fights.
Holland, the 2020 MMA Junkie “Fighter of the Year,” is looking for the biggest win of his career against Derek Brunson on Saturday in the UFC on ESPN 21 headliner. Holland is ranked No. 11 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie middleweight rankings, while Brunson enters at No. 6.
Kevin Holland: Everyone should stop riding Israel Adesanya’s (expletive) ‘so damn hard’
