Kevin Holland tops Charlie Ontiveros, first to four wins in 2020

Kevin Holland earned his third finish in four fights, but in bizarre circumstances at UFC on ESPN+ 39 on Saturday, Oct. 31.

Holland slammed Ontiveros to the canvas, but then Ontiveros verbally signaled he suffered an injury to his neck. Holland defeated the UFC newcomer via first-round verbal submission on Halloween night.

Kevin Holland vs. Charlie Ontiveros Preview

The UFC returns to the United States on Halloween night at UFC on ESPN+ 39, Saturday, Oct. 31. Anderson Silva makes his final walk to the octagon in a middleweight headliner against Uriah Hall at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The co-main event is a featherweight clash between two exciting contenders in Bryce Mitchell and Andre Fili.

A showdown at middleweight features a heavily favored Kevin Holland (19-5-0) vs. UFC newcomer Charlie Ontiveros (11-6-0). Holland is one of few fighters in the UFC searching for, not only his fourth straight victory, but his fourth victory this calendar year. Holland is coming off his recent decision victory over Darren Stewart a little more than a month ago.

Standing in his way, Fury FC veteran Ontiveros looks to shock the surging Holland tonight. “The American Bad Boy” is coming off back-to-back victories in Fury FC and has mixed it up with MMA notables Geoff Neal as well as Michael “Venom” Page.

Here is how the middleweight bout between Kevin Holland and Charlie Ontiveros went down at UFC on ESPN+ 39, including round-by-round scoring. For full results of the event, check them out right here.

Round One:

Ontiveros caught Holland with a spinning elbow after a wild throw from Holland early. Holland recovered very quickly and took Ontiveros to the ground to land a fury of elbows. Holland then spent the next couple of minutes controlling the round on the ground. Holland landed random body strikes from side control while Ontiveros struggled to get back to his feet. Almost as quickly as Ontiveros got to his feet, Holland slammed Ontiveros to the ground and then scored the quick knockout. After a few minutes of confusion, the judges scored the victory as a verbal submission. Holland then went to find Israel Adesanya for the quick callout. The two fighters went back-and-forth with some comments before the official results from Bruce Buffer.

While Ontiveros had his first fight in the UFC, the emotions may have gotten the best of the fighter. Holland now notches his seventh submission victory in his MMA career. With the quick fight, Holland is not opposed to one more UFC fight in 2020.

Official decision: Kevin Holland def. Charlie Ontiveros via TKO [Verbal submission] at 2:39 in round 1.

Make it 4️⃣ victories in 2020!

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— UFC (@ufc) October 31, 2020