Don’t expect Kevin Holland to change his ways in the aftermath of losing his first UFC main event.
Holland (21-6 MMA, 7-3 UFC) suffered a unanimous decision loss to Derek Brunson (22-7 MMA, 13-5 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 21 headliner, and afterward he received a lot of criticism for his antics throughout the bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Due to the amount of talking Holland did inside the octagon, UFC president Dana White said he thought the fighter had a “mental breakdown,” and others questioned why Holland didn’t focus more on fighting than chatting, especially when it was clear he was losing.
Holland ultimately doesn’t appear to care about any of that feedback. His post-fight messages on social media were defiant, and Holland said he has no plans to tone it down moving forward.
“Never going to stop talking,” Holland said on Instagram. “If you guys don’t f*cking like it, deuces. … I’m gonna be me till I die never said I wanted to be the champ I said I wanted to have a good time and that I did on to the next.”
Holland said he intends to go “back to the drawing board” after having his five-fight winning streak snapped by Brunson. A lack of defensive wrestling and getups from bottom were the difference for Holland. He was taken down six times over 25 minutes and controlled on the mat for nearly 17 minutes.
Although he has no plans to tone down the talking going forward, Holland said he’s not ignorant to the flaws that lost him the fight, and he does vow to shore up that aspect of his game.
“Yes I will talk yes I will have fun but winning is a sh*t load of fun as well,” Holland wrote in a follow-up post on Instagram. “I definitely hate letting you guys down so fighting smarter improving position and avoiding being taken down I’ll get back to work within the week”
Holland said on the UFC on ESPN 21 post-fight show that he’s considering a drop down to the welterweight division following his loss to Brunson. He’s teased the move for several years, and had a fight scheduled at 170 pounds in May 2020 before he was forced to withdraw due to injury.
Holland weighed in at 183 pounds for the fight with Brunson. He said he’s working closely with a nutritionist, and a change in weight class might be in his immediate future.
Kevin Holland defiant toward post-loss criticism: ‘Never going to stop talking’
