Kevin Holland knew he was severely injured after absorbing brutal low blows from Mike Malott at UFC Vancouver, and the welterweight has now revealed just how much the illegal strikes affected his performance in the unanimous decision loss.
Holland was hit with a pair of low blows in the opening round against Malott, with the second shot putting him down on the canvas and requiring a full five-minute recovery period. Despite appearing momentarily unable to continue, Holland eventually got back to his feet and gave the go-ahead to restart the fight.
Holland Details Lasting Impact
Speaking to MMA Fighting, Holland acknowledged that the low blow had lingering effects throughout the remainder of the bout.
I mean it sucked," Holland said. "In the moment, it sucked. I didn't want to continue at all but I'm happy I did. A better man for it. Now in the gym, somebody gets kicked in the nuts, and I'm like we're not deducting a point, get your ass up, keep sparring. I mean I guess you could say everyone has iron nuts now.
He added:
I went home, I couldn’t drive my tractor, I couldn’t ride the horse. Hell, the only thing that felt good was good old chewy from the fcking chew monster, other than that, that thing was hurting. It was one of those situations where it’s like I’m blessed I’ve already got two kids. Those type of things affect you. F** Malott but other than that, good to go.
Kevin Holland's Recovery
He was able to finish the fight, but Holland admitted that it actually took several weeks before he finally started feeling good again.
After like two weeks, I was back on the horse, rode real slow,” Holland said. “I was able to drive the tractor again. It hurt to do it but had to man up and do it because we had shit to do. By the time the fourth and sixth week came around, they felt about natural.
“The trauma from getting hit in the nuts is still there. Any time anybody aims in that area, I’m like whoa, chill out! You guys remember back in the day in the [Joaquin] Buckley fight, he hit me in the nuts a couple of times, and I’m like bro, I’m trying to smack something after this. It never really affected me that much but for some reason that day, they were racking up.
The welterweight's candid admission sheds light on how the illegal strikes may have contributed to his loss at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. Holland was visibly compromised after the second low blow and spent the full recovery time on the ground before deciding to continue.
Moving Forward After Setback
Despite the disappointing result and circumstances, Holland appears to be taking a philosophical approach to the experience. His comments suggest he's using the incident as motivation in training, pushing his sparring partners to show the same toughness he displayed in Vancouver.
The loss marked another setback for Holland, who has experienced mixed results in recent outings. The veteran fighter's willingness to continue despite being clearly compromised by the low blows demonstrated his warrior mentality, even as it may have cost him the fight.
