Getty Kevin Holland
UFC fan favorite Kevin Holland recently shared a cryptic statement on social media hinting that he’s retiring from mixed martial arts.
“Trailblazer” last fought at UFC 279 on September 10 when he was locked inside the Octagon against Khamzat Chimaev for a 180-pound catchweight fight. Holland was originally supposed to fight Daniel Rodriguez, but after “Borz” missed weight for his welterweight fight against Nate Diaz, the promotion was forced to shuffle the fight card a day before the event.
Holland stepped up to take on Chimaev. But, Trailblazer would end up losing to the undefeated phenom in just over two minutes. Chimaev swarmed Holland with his wrestling from the get-go and he eventually caught the American in a D’Arce choke, forcing the tap.
Twelve days later and Holland shared the cryptic retirement hint via Instagram. On September 22, Trailblazer posted an image with the following text, along with a finger-peace sign emoji: “Had a good run in a little over a month got paid I’m out. Next career choice??”
See Holland’s post via the embedded Instagram link below:
If Holland does end up walking away from the sport, he’d retire with a professional mixed martial arts record of 23-8 with one no-contest, which includes 13 wins via KO/TKO and six by submission.
Holland Called for a Fight With Stephen Thompson & Rodriguez in His Post-Loss Statement
After suffering the first-round loss to Chimaev at UFC 279, Holland broke his silence the next day via social media. In a video, he said he was defeated in a “grappling match” and that he wanted to return to action before the end of the year.
Holland had two names in mind as a return opponent: Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson and Rodriguez. Trailblazer reiterated in the video message that he wanted to fight a striking-based combatant next, not a wrestler like Chimaev.
“Yo, guys,” Holland said (h/t BJPenn.com). “I lost an amazing grappling match last night, I mean fight,” Holland said. “My bad, Chimaev is one hell of an athlete. Still gonna be talking s*** cause you know who I am.
“I hate ending the year like this, so I would love to go in there against a striker. I don’t know if I’m still deserving of a ‘Wonderboy’ fight, I would love a ‘Wonderboy’ fight, but if not a ‘Wonderboy’ fight, D-Rod, we were all the way on task to getting it done. We had to switch it up to save the card, so maybe we can get something nice and get it going and collect another check before the end of the year.”
Fans Weighed In on Holland’s Retirement Hint
Holland’s retirement hint garnered a lot of attention. In the comment section of the post, several fans reacted to Trailblazer. “Bruh stop before I start crying,” one fan wrote.
“Can’t let your last fight be like that,” someone commented.
Another person wasn’t buying that Holland was truly announcing his retirement, writing: “Cya next PPV card man.”
“It’s too early for you to be trolling us,” another chimed in. Insinuating Holland was lying, someone also wrote: “Is this a lids store? Cause all I’m seeing is cap.”