Kevin Holland was compromised from the first round going forward in the UFC on ESPN 42 main event, according to his team.
Holland (23-9 MMA, 9-6 UFC) suffered a fourth-round TKO defeat by corner stoppage against Stephen Thompson (17-6-1 MMA, 12-6-1 UFC) in Saturday’s welterweight headliner at Amway Center in Orlando, Fla. He hardly threw the right hand as the rounds wore on, and it was obvious something was wrong after he was much more reckless in exchanging during the opening frame.
Eventually, after he took a beating in the fourth frame, Holland and his team decided it wasn’t wise to come out for Round 5 and the bout was waved off. Once the event concluded, Holland’s management team at KO Reps confirmed on social media that the hand was indeed broken early on (via Twitter):
. @Trailblaze2top broke his right hand landing a cross in the first round.
Hand is very swollen. Being transported to the hospital. Congrats to @WonderboyMMA and team. #UFCOrlando pic.twitter.com/axGM1tzRpp— KOreps (@ko_reps) December 4, 2022
.@Trailblaze2top broke his right hand landing a cross in the first round.
Hand is very swollen. Being transported to the hospital. Congrats to @WonderboyMMA and team.
#UFCOrlando
The severity of Holland’s hand break was significant, his management told ESPN. holland broke the third, fourth and fifth metacarpals. He will require surgery, but no date has been finalized for him to go under the knife.
Holland fell to 0-3 in UFC headliners with his defeat to Thompson and has now dropped back-to-back fights with his submission loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 279 in September.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 42.
