- Kevin Holland vs. Stephen Thompson is set for UFC Orlando
- The news broke shortly after “Trailblazer” confirmed that he’s officially retired from fighting
Right after suffering a submission loss in his short-notice catchweight bout with Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 279, Kevin Holland shocked fans by hinting at early retirement. UFC president Dana White previously commented on the matter and said that Holland may have just been carried away by his emotions. But apparently, “Trailblazer” is serious about it.
From the looks of it, fans don’t need to be baffled as Holland had just been booked for a fight against Stephen Thompson.
Not retired
Thompson vs. Holland will be headlining UFC Orlando on Dec. 3, reliable sources confirm to MMA Junkie. What’s even mind-blowing, the report came out shortly after “Trailblazer” insisted that he’s officially retired.
Other fights in the UFC Orlando card are:
- Derek Brunson vs. Jack Hermansson
- Bryan Barberena vs. Rafael dos Anjos
- Tracy Cortez vs. Amanda Ribas
- Darren Elkins vs. Jonathan Pearce
- Matheus Nicolau vs. Matt Schnell
- Eryk Anders vs. Kyle Daukaus
- Marc Diakiese vs. Michael Johnson
- Clay Guida vs. Scott Holtzman
- Emily Ducote vs. Angela Hill
- Francis Marshall vs. Marcelo Rojo
- Natan Levy vs. Genaro Valdez
Retired, then unretired
In a recent appearance on Real Eyes Recognize podcast, Holland addressed the issue and confirmed that he’s officially retired from fighting. However, there’s a chance he might consider coming out of retirement if something “super-duper magical” happens.
“So I’m retired. I’m officially retired,” Holland began. “I’m retired from fighting. I had a good fight, good payday, I had a good run. I see some of the people online [saying] ‘obviously he realizes he’ll never get the belt’ and my little psychedelic trip, that means I was wrong. I can’t be wrong on a psychedelic trip. I’ve lost coming out to Young Boy. That was my last hope, never losing coming out to Young Boy. Times are rough for your boy. But I’m really, really happy on the green side.”
“Unless something super-duper, like super-duper magical pops up, yeah [I might return],” he continued. “I’m pretty happy with the way things are.”
Having heard the shocking news, it appears that a main event bout with “Wonderboy” is something super-duper for Holland. Let’s wait for more updates.
