Stephen Thompson TKO’s Kevin Holland in Fight of the Year contender – UFC Orlando Highlights
Fan favorite Kevin Holland made his fourth walk to the Octagon on Saturday night at UFC Orlando. Emanating from the Amway Center, ‘Trailblazer’ looked for the biggest win of his career against another fan-favorite fighter, Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson. Holland is coming off a short-notice mauling against undefeated Chechen monster Khamzat Chimaev. Prior to that, Holland was the winner of back-to-back fights. On the flip side, ‘Wonderboy’ is looking to get back to his winning ways after dropping four of his last six including back-to-back defeats against Gilbert Burns and Belal Muhammad.
Kevin Holland immediately came out talking and stalking his opponent, pushing the pace. Thompson landed solid strikes in the opening round, but Holland appeared to eat them without issue showing a clear difference in the power each fighter possesses. Just past the halfway point of the first round, Holland landed a massive right hand that rocked Thomspon. Holland moved in for the kill but backed away as ‘Wonderboy’ regained his bearings.
The second round brought more excitement as ‘Wonderboy’ turned up the heat, moving in on Holland repeatedly, peppering him with strikes. That trend continued into the third as Holland began to slow down. In the fourth, Thompson unloaded a barrage of kicks, including direct hits to Holland’s liver clearly compromising him. With a potentially broken hand, Holland was unable to muster any real offense in the fourth.
Going back to their corners following a frenetic fourth round, Kevin Holland and his corner opted to throw in the towel due to an injured hand.
Official Result: Stephen Thompson def. Kevin Holland via TKO (retirement) at 5:00 of Round 4
