Stephen Thompson and Kevin Holland squared off in a Welterweight contest earlier tonight (Sat., Dec. 10, 2022) at UFC Orlando from inside Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.
Holland opened the fight with some wild jumping kick into punches combinations … though I don’t know that they worked that well. Holland also seemed to be looking for the clinch. Meanwhile, Thompson’s straight punches were looking really fast, crisp, and accurate. Holland answered a couple minutes in with a heavy combination, but Thompson fired right back with his counter left.
At about the midway point of the round, Holland cracked “Wonderboy” with a right and wobbled his knees. Holland pushed into the clinch and landed some hard elbows, but Thompson still looked springy when he circled back to the center. Then, Thompson absolutely cracked Holland with a right hand, and “Big Mouth” just ate it!
It was an incredible round!
Thompson scored well inside the first minute of the second, catching Holland with a few crisp crosses and some heavy high kicks. Any time “Wonderboy” was remotely near punching range, Holland swung aggressively, and he didn’t miss all of those shots. Holland briefly gained top position off a scramble, but he willingly let Thompson back to his feet to keep the wildness going! Holland seemed to be dialing in his left hook. Still, Thompson was the more accurate puncher. Each time one man landed a heavy shot and seemed to have his man hurt, the other would almost immediately fire back and land something massive.
Holland started the third with an extra dose of low kicks, but Thompson answered quickly with a jumping switch kick. The chaotic pace seemed to be wearing on Holland a bit, who was exploding into his offensive bursts less frequently. Thompson’s straight punches continued landing at a good rate, while Holland did perhaps his best work in the clinch. Between rounds, Holland’s right hand seemed injured, and his corner begged him to make it an MMA fight.
Thompson opened the championship rounds with a hook kick straight to the jaw. Then, a clash of heads split open “Wonderboy.” Thompson ripped into Holland’s liver with a pair of brutal kicks, and these blows really hurt Holland. The fight moved into the clinch, then all of a sudden, the referee seemed to wave off the bout? Actually, it was a low blow and merely paused the fight.
Upon restart, Thompson spin kicked Holland straight in the face. “Trailblazer” was looking really battered, taking hard kicks and punches left and right. By the final minute of the round, Holland was just leaning on the fence, rolling with blows and occasionally firing back. Finally, Thompson knocked him down in the closing seconds of the fourth.
After the devastating fourth round, Holland’s corner made the wise decision of calling off the fight. Despite a strong start, Thompson’s martial arts mastery combined with Holland’s injured hand allowed “Wonderboy” to pull away in incredible fashion.
What.A.Fight!
Result: Stephen Thompson defeats Kevin Holland via TKO
For complete UFC Orlando: “Thompson vs. Holland” results and play-by-play, click HERE!