UFC Orlando: Holland breaks three knuckles in loss

It sounds like the ‘Trailblazer’ is going to need time to recover from his broken hand. 

Kevin Holland is dealing with a broken right hand after his loss to Stephen Thompson at UFC Orlando this past Saturday.

Four rounds of an all-action fight between the ‘Trailblazer’ and ‘Wonderboy’ ended in a corner stoppage, as Holland was clearly compromised. In a brief post-fight interview with UFC color commentator Daniel Cormier, Holland said he knew something was wrong in the first round, which was the same round that he nearly finished Thompson with some brutal right hands.

“I think I hurt him in the first round and after that, it was hurting,” said Holland. “It is what it is.”

Holland was transported to a local hospital, where his manager Oren Hodak of KO Reps confirmed he suffered a broken right hand.

“[Kevin Holland] broke his right hand landing a cross in the first round,” Hodak wrote. “Hand is very swollen. Being transported to the hospital. Congrats to [Stephen Thompson] and team.”

Hours after the hospital visit, Holland revealed the extent of the damage, which was three broken knuckles.

“[Stephen Thompson], hard head brother lol,” wrote Holland (H/T Amy Kaplan of FanSided MMA). “I broke not one, but three knuckles on it. Respect.”

Funny enough, Thompson also lauded how hard of a head Holland has, as both of his hands hurt after their ‘Fight of the Night’ outing.

“He’s tough as nails,” said Thompson in his post-fight interview. “I mean, both of my hands hurt right now because of his hard noggin, but Kevin Holland is a beast.”

With the loss, Holland fell to 2-2 in his 2022 appearances. The 30-year-old started off with two wins over Alex Oliveira and Tim Means at UFC 272 and UFC Austin, respectively. He had that win streak snapped by Khamzat Chimaev, who he met in a short-notice fight at UFC 279 in September.