Getty Tim Means & Kevin Holland
Exciting UFC fighter Kevin Holland recently alluded to retiring from mixed martial arts, but Michael Bisping isn’t buying it.
A few weeks after his sub-three-minute submission loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 279, “Trailblazer” took to Instagram, sharing a peace-finger sign and an image that reads: “Had a good run in a little over a month got paid I’m out. Next career choice??”
Holland followed up the September 22nd post by sharing more photos on his Instagram feed while using hashtags like “#retirement and #retiredlife.”
Well, during a new episode of Bisping’s “Believe You Me” podcast, he shared his skepticism that the 29-year-old fighter was walking away from the sport, calling it “bulls***.”
Bisping Said He Doesn’t Think Holland Is Retiring, Pointed to Conor McGregor & Jon Jones Claiming Retirement in the Past
Bisping pointed to Trailblazer’s materialistic desire as a reason why Holland likely isn’t retiring. He also said Holland, who has a professional MMA record of 23-8 with one no-contest, was in the “prime of his life” and that fight fans have seen other stars say they were retiring when they weren’t.
“That’s bulls***,” Bisping said (h/t MMA Fighting). “That’s bulls***. Kevin Holland is a great fighter, he’s very well-known, he was the 2020 Fighter of the Year. He’s a fan favorite, he’s making money, he loves shiny things — I’m talking about gold and jewelry and stuff like that, and he wants to buy a lot more of it — and he’s in the prime of his life. If he was quitting, walking away, he would at least jazz it up a little touch, as opposed to using a font last seen on an Atari f****** game system. What is that font?! There’s no way. He’s a very stylish guy, he’s not announcing his retirement in a font from a ZX Spectrum.
“I don’t think he’s retiring at all. I don’t know what he’s playing at. Fighters do this. Conor McGregor famously always does that. He loves to tease his retirement. Diaz did it a couple of times. Jon Jones has done it.”
Bisping Theorized That Holland Was ‘Deflated’ After the Chimaev Loss, Dealing With ‘Depression’
Bisping, who is a former UFC middleweight champion, continued with his take on Holland. And in short, he thinks that Holland may be suffering from post-fight depression. September 10th marked a rough loss for Holland.
At the start of the opening frame, Chimaev implemented his wild grappling game and he caught Holland with a D’Arce choke before Trailblazer could land one single significant strike. The 180-pound catchweight contest served as the night’s co-main event under Nate Diaz vs. Tony Ferguson.
“The reality is, when you lose a fight — and that was a big fight with a lot of spotlight on it — against a guy like Khamzat Chimaev, and you get beaten … maybe he’s going through a period of depression right now,” Bisping continued. “Maybe he’s deflated — deflated would be a better word. He’s a great fighter with a tremendous amount of opportunity and maybe he’s gone out there and fought Khamzat and thought, ‘S***, wow. That fact that he ragdolled me like that,’ which, with respect, is kind of what happened — maybe he’s just going through a little soul-searching right now.
“Who knows? But I’ve been there. Lot’s of fighters go through those kind of periods.”