An accidental headbutt at UFC Vegas 38 lead to a no contest.
Last night, in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 38 Kyle Daukaus and Kevin Holland fought to a no contest. The fight lasted under one round thanks to a clash of heads that seemed to KO Holland. However, Holland sprung back to life before the referee could wave it off. In the ensuing scramble Daukaus was able to secure a fight ending choke.
As soon as the fight was over referee Dan Miragliotta was part of a conclave outside the cage trying to figure out whether the fight should be a submission win for Daukaus or a no contest. After a prolonged chat it was agreed that the fight ended due to the accidental blow, so it was a no contest.
In his post-fight press conference Holland said that he didn’t agree with the ruling.
“I never thought about a no-contest,” he said (ht MMA Fighting). “I’m not that type of person. As far as I’m concerned, he knocked me out and choked me out in one fight. If it was a street fight, he would have got the job done.
“I mean kung-fu first, defend yourself at all times. I didn’t defend myself from the headbutt, that’s my fault.”
Holland did admit, though, that he was considerably compromised after the accidental blow. “I felt myself a little dizzy on the ground. I felt a little harder to breathe in the choking situation. I figured I was pretty f*cked up in that situation.”
Holland also regaled the media with his own headbutt story.
“I’ve never headbutted anybody and knocked anybody out. I headbutted a security guard in high school and got kicked out of high school. I mean just be happy you’re not getting kicked out of the UFC as far as I’m concerned.
“Like I said, props to Kyle. I’m not the type of person that complains about anything. He did a good job and he’s right — if I would have got up, I would have knocked him out. I would have been on ESPN, he’s 100 percent right.”
After the fight Daukaus, who also believes he should have gotten the victory, said he is eager to get back into the Octagon on December 18th, the same card his brother Chris is due to take on Derrick Lewis.
Holland wants to meet him there.
“I want to run it back. I want to run it back right now. I want to run it back on anybody that’s ever got the better advantage of me.”
It’s been an unusual career thus far for ‘The Trailblazer’. In 2020 he was one of the most impressive fighters in the sport, with five wins in five contests. Those wins included TKOs over Anthony Hernandez, Joaquin Buckley and Jacare Souza (in improbable fashion).
2021 hasn’t been kind to Holland, though. In March he had his first headlining fight, but lost after being thoroughly outclassed by the surging Derek Brunson. He then lost a unanimous decision to Marvin Vettori, in another main event.