Well, that was quick. Only weeks after announcing his retirement from MMA, UFC welterweight Kevin Holland will be returning to competition to face Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson at UFC Orlando. Holland firmly stated that his retirement was not fake in a recent episode of The MMA Hour, describing how the Wonderboy fight is what he wanted.
“For a second there I was like, ‘Yeah, I could walk away and be happy.’ No stress. People were like, ‘Even with the last performance?’ I was like, ‘Even with the last performance, I’m cool with it.’ Samurai code. Ready to die at any time. F*** it. Bushido. It is what it is.
Kevin Holland Emerges From Short-Lived Retirement for Wonderboy Fight
Until I got hit up with what I wanted and I was like, I can’t turn that down. I said if I got something magically wonderful or delicious I would step back up, and what’s more wonderful than Wonderboy?” Holland continued, discussing how excited he is to be facing Wonderboy.
“I would never turn down a Wonderboy fight. A young Kev, an old Kev, no Kev would ever turn down a Wonderboy fight. I think I can strike. The whole world thinks I’ve just got a right hand, I think I’ve got a lot more than that. Kung Fu black belt for a reason, and everybody’s Kung Fu fighting. So we’ve got Kung Fu vs. Karate, this is old school stuff. It’s fun. It’s very, very fun. I’m excited about this one.
I don’t plan on going in there and shooting any takedowns against Wonderboy. To be 100 percent honest with you, I plan on knocking Wonderboy the f*** out. I think Wonderboy is a fantastic fighter, I think his style is wonderful, it’s his name, but that being said, Pettis was able to knock him out and I think I’m going to be able to knock him out. Pettis was able to find his chin and I think I’m going to be able to find his chin, and when I find his chin, I think I hit a little bit harder than Anthony Pettis.
But let’s not get mistaken, a lot of people go out there and strike with Wonderboy, usually look crazy. Geoff Neal, dude can strike really well, couldn’t strike with Wonderboy. Vicente Luque, strikes really well — and these are two completely different styles of striking — couldn’t strike with Wonderboy. Pettis is a crafty motherf*****, and he figured it out.
I like to think I’m pretty crafty too, so I think I can figure it out, and I think my Kung Fu beats his Karate.” What’s your prediction for Holland vs Thompson? Let us know in the comments.
