Stephen Thompson wins Holland by TKO… a victory after two years
It was Stephen Thompson (39, USA) who laughed in the showdown between the two “good heroes.”
At the UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs Holland main event held at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, on the 3rd, Kevin Holland (30, USA) announced his intention to abstain due to hand injuries and accumulated damage. Thompson won the game two years after losing two consecutive games.
The two “good heroes” played a fair and square game with each other. Holland declared in the first round that he would play a batting-oriented game, saying, “I won’t take you down,” and Thompson also replied, “It’s good.”
In the beginning, Holland gained momentum. Thompson, who was hit by Holland’s light straight in the first round, faced a crisis as his legs were loosened. Holland aimed for the finish with a series of close-range elbow hits, but Thompson held out.
Stephen Thompson, who survived the onslaught, changed his stance and tried to counterattack by hitting a straight line.
From the second round, Thompson’s flow began. Holland was unable to make his main weapon, a light punch, due to a right hand injury he suffered in the first round. Thompson succeeded in reversing the game with a spectacular blow.
Thompson damaged Holland by mixing body kicks, high kicks and turn kicks. In the end, Holland was beaten unilaterally like a sandbag from the fourth round.
But Holland didn’t give up until the end. He endured several body kicks and turns. In the end, he collapsed after being hit by a punch, but resisted until the end.
Eventually Connor stopped him. Holland’s coaches announced their intention to give up after the fourth round.
In an interview after the game, Holland appeared injured in the first round. I’ve been sick ever since. It can’t be helped,” he explained about the injury. Holland went straight to the hospital after the game.
Stephen Thompson, who is in a state of confusion, showed the best game of his career. He said, “I feel like I’m 25 years old. There’s still a lot of way to go, and I’m still useful,” he said, expressing his willingness to fight for a long time in the future.
It was a thrilling batting battle where you could taste the true side of Karate fighter Thompson’s batting for the first time in a long time. Thompson lost his second straight game in the previous two games, being overwhelmed on the ground by Graffler.
“If you want to see a match like this, give me a hitter,” Thompson said at a press conference after the match. “I always pursue the title as the top priority, but there is no reason not to pursue pleasure on the way to the top.”
Meanwhile, Sergei Pavlovic (30, Russia), the fifth-ranked player in the heavyweight division, shocked fourth-ranked Thai Tuivasa (29, Australia) in 54 seconds. Tuyvasa, famous for being the king of Matjip, did not last for less than a minute with Pavlovic’s powerful punch series of punches.
With this, Pavlovic recorded his fifth consecutive KO win. The next game is likely to be the next heavyweight title challenger.
With champion Francis Nganu set to return early next year, former UFC light heavyweight champion John Jones is being mentioned as a challenger.
Pavlovic could face players like former UFC heavyweight interim champion and current No. 1 Cyril Gan and third-placed Curtis Blaze for the next challenge.