Kevin Holland got back in the win column on June 1, when he faced Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC 302: Makhachev vs Poirier. The pair battled it out on the main card live on PPV from Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.
The scheduled for three rounds middleweight bout didn’t go the distance. After being dropped by the Poland’s southpaw with a big left hand, the Riverside, California native went for an armbar.
It was unclear whether Holland broke Oleksiejczuk’s arm, or it was dislocated. Either way, referee Herb Dean stopped the fight at 1 minute and 34 seconds into the first round.
With the victory by technical submission, Kevin Holland improved to 27-11,1 NC. The 31-year-old returned to winning ways after suffering a pair of defeats.
Michal Oleksiejczuk dropped to 19-8-1. The 29-year-old lost his second fight in a row.
“Dude cracked me with a good shot,” Holland said in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. “Somehow we ended up on the ground, [he] left his arm in a little too far.”
When asked what he wanted to do next, Holland said: Honestly that’s for the organization to figure out. I kind of feel like I’m just the best gatekeeper you guys have ever seen. I’ll fight anybody up, I’ll fight anybody down. I don’t give a f***. Let’s keep Kevin around.”
Get UFC 302: Makhachev vs Poirier full card results.
