UFC came to Austin’s Moody Center and put on a Fight Night event headlined by Calvin Kattar and Josh Emmett. The co-main event had Kevin Holland continuing his successful welterweight run against the 38-year-old Tim Means.
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Means used his wrestling at the beginning of the bout to put Holland on his back. However, ‘Trailblazer’ let his hand loose on the feet when he got back up from the takedown.
‘The Dirty Bird’ showed resilience and awareness to take the fight to the ground when he was hurt at the end of the first round. However, the Fit NHB standout had issues with the 29-year-old’s pace, which eventually saw him getting tagged to the ground and submitted afterward via a d’arce choke.
Holland snapped the Albuquerque athlete’s three-fight win streak. With the loss, the Oklahoma-born athlete fell to a 32-13-1 MMA record.
‘Trailblazer’ improved to a 23-7 MMA record with his second consecutive win in the welterweight division. The Travis Lutter BJJ standout’s performance earned admiration from fight fans who shared their emotions on social platforms.
UFC world reacts to UFC Austin- Holland vs. Means
MMA fans enjoyed ‘Batman’ Kevin Holland, who is becoming somewhat of a cult personality with his social work outside the Octagon. Ahead of the bout, he showed another heroic effort, as he has done in the past when he stopped a shooter at a Houston restaurant.
Holland does it again! Great scrap from both guys! #UFCAustin
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) June 19, 2022
UFC, Means- Holland, the only thing more impressive than these fighters heart, is the mutual respect they show. #UFC
— Teddy Atlas (@TeddyAtlasReal) June 19, 2022
Holland just beat Means like he stole someone's purse. PROBLEM at 170! #UFCAustin
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) June 19, 2022
I must say Holland looked good tonight . He’s been dm-ing all week talking trash . 170 looks good on you kid ! #UFCAustin
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) June 19, 2022
Kevin Holland TAPS Tim means with a D'arce choke.
Welterweight Holland is a problem. #UFCAustin
— Damon Martin (@DamonMartin) June 19, 2022
Kevin Holland the real deal, never looked better imo #UFCAustin @Trailblaze2top 👏👏👏👏
— Billy Quarantillo (@BillyQMMA) June 19, 2022
Kevin Holland looked really good tonight. More patient than before and found his right hands easier #ufc
— Weasle (@ThaWeasle) June 19, 2022
Holland via sub. Trailblazer on the comeback trail. Y’all must’ve forgot.
What a freaking card.
Can’t wait to talk about it on @SpotifyLive right after the main!!
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 19, 2022
Kevin Holland has been WORKING, man. So, so sharp. Technical stuff. Good work everywhere. This move to welterweight has got some momentum on it. I don't know if timing would work out for it to be next, but I'd love to see Kevin Holland vs. Daniel Rodriguez at some point.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) June 19, 2022
BIG MOUTH STRIKES AGAIN!
Holland looking fantastic at 170.
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) June 19, 2022
Holland looked phenomenal on the scale, considering he used to be a staple at middleweight not so long ago. Besides, his wrestling is improving day by day, which is very critical in the welterweight division that is top-heavy with world-class wrestlers.
Who could Kevin Holland face next?
The brash talker is open to competing in either the middleweight or welterweight division. He already had a lot of success at 185, but fell against the top-tier athletes.
Imago
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 12: Kevin Holland celebrates his KO victory over Jacare Souza of Brazil in their middleweight bout during the UFC 256 event at UFC APEX on December 12, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Hollard’s inexperience in wrestling and size caused him issues at 185 lbs. Hence, he moved to the welterweight division. Looking at the past two bouts, it seems to have been a good decision.
For his next bout, a Michel Pereira matchup would be a fun contest.
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What do you make of Kevin Holland’s performance?
Written by
Edited by
Reubyn Coutinho