Kevin Holland smack-talked then knocked out his middleweight opponent Joaquin Buckley on Saturday.- The American fighter Holland out-landed Buckley with top tier striking, then hit him so hard in the third round the mouthpiece flew out of his mouth.
- Buckley then fell to the floor, defeated, before the referee stepped in to wave the bout off.
- Holland was rewarded with a $50,000 performance bonus for his brilliant performance at the
UFC Vegas 6 show. - Watch the finish right here.
An American middleweight called Kevin Holland, one of the UFC's most entertaining fighters, hit his opponent so hard he sent his mouthpiece flying.
Holland fought Joaquin Buckley at the "UFC Vegas 6" show at the UFC-owned facility Apex in Nevada on Saturday, and brilliantly closed the show.
With five-inch height and reach advantages, Holland was able to out-land Buckley in every round, many of those considered heavy shots.
Holland hit Buckley with elbow strikes, cut Buckley open to the corner of the eye, and was generally the superior, flashier, and more powerful striker.
And with the final blow of the fight, Holland hit Buckley with a pin-point power punch to the jaw, a right hand so mighty it sent the mouthpiece flying out of his mouth as he fell back to the floor, before the referee stepped in to wave the bout off.
It was all over.
Holland had won.
Watch the finish right here:
—ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 9, 2020
Or here if you're in a different region:
—UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) August 9, 2020
Holland said after the fight that his performance "was pretty cool" if not "kind of sloppy."
He said: "That was pretty decent, I didn't know it was that decent. Any victory is a great feeling, but overall I've been saying let's go bucko for a while.
"I didn't think Buckley was coming to fight like that and he came to fight! Mad props to him for stepping up, mad props to him for bringing the fight.
"Honestly … I have to sit back and really think about it. But I think that was one of the most fun fights I've ever been in, the back-and-forths, the smack talking. It was almost like a street affair, with some cardio. That was dope."
Holland banked a $50,000 performance bonus because he beat Buckley so brilliantly.
Holland advanced his record to 18 wins (nine knockouts, six submissions, and three decisions) against five losses, and wants to be kept as busy as possible.
"Put me in there as much as I can until I hit 30, then I'm going to slow down a little bit. But I want to have fun and to me, there's no better job than fighting. Every time they call me, I'll take the fight."
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