UFC commentator and former middleweight champion Michael Bisping knows what retirement looks like. With Kevin Holland, just shy of 30 years old and a rising UFC star in his own right, threatening retirement via Instagram, Bisping isn’t exactly convinced. “The Count” explained his reasoning, casting doubt on the entire affair, on his Believe You Me podcast.
“That’s bulls***. 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.
Bisping Doubts Kevin Holland “Bullsh*t” Retirement Claims
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’s observation is correct. Several high-profile fighters have recently teased retirements of late, only to continue fighting. Perhaps the most egregious example was former two-division champion Henry Cejudo, who despite retiring years ago continues to threaten to return to competition. More likely, says Bisping, Holland is feeling “deflated” after he was dominated by Khamzat Chimaev.
“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.
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.”
Do you think Kevin Holland’s retirement is for real, or will we see him back in the Octagon before too long? Let us know in the comments.
