Fighting just three weeks after being outwrestled for five rounds by Derek Brunson, Kevin Holland was looking to bounce back against Marvin Vettori in the main event of UFC Fight Night. Unfortunately for Holland, Vettori was able to follow the game plan laid out by Brunson, repeatedly taking Holland to the canvas in the five-round fight for a dominant decision victory.
Holland got out to a fast start, using fast kicks and straight punches to connect with several clean strikes. Once it became clear that going strike-for-strike with Holland was a bad idea, Vettori changed up his approach, getting inside on Holland and using body locks to take the fight to the ground.
Once the fight was on the ground, Vettori was relentless in holding the position while dropping heavy ground and pound strikes. The shots from Vettori caused significant swelling of Holland's left eye, but after being checked by the doctor, Holland insisted he was able to continue fighting.
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From there, the fight fell into the same pattern, with Holland having brief moments in the rare occasions the fight was on the feet, but showing an inability to stop any takedown attempts, not an ability to consistently find his way out of bottom position.
"This is fun right?" @Trailblaze2Top exchanging some words in the last moments of RD 3. #UFCVegas23 pic.twitter.com/TOTlIvTacy
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By the end of five rounds, there was no doubt who would receive the nod on the official scorecards, with Vettori having his hand raised by official scorecards all reading 50-44.
"Listen, I'm not too happy with what I did because I wanted to finish this guy and I wasn't able to," Vettori said after his victory. "But it was a dominant win. I keep improving and five rounds for me is just another thing. I'm not the happiest right now, but I keep winning and keep progressing."
Vettori has called for a rematch with middleweight champion Israel Adesanya since losing a split decision during Adesanya's run to the title. Having picked up his fifth win, Vettori did not back down from calling out Adesanya once again.
"I want Adesanya next," Vettori said. "I will improve by the next fight, that's sure. In October, I want to fight him. I think I deserve it. I have the longest winning streak right now. A lot of people were supposed to show up and they didn't. I'm on a winning streak right now, like I said, and I put on winning performances, dominant performances and I want this title, man."
