Mar 30, 2019; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Kevin Holland smiles between rounds in his fight against Gerald Meerschaert (not pictured) during UFC Fight Night at Wells Fargo Arena. Holland won the fight. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Kevin Holland understands why Dana White was so critical of the Derek Brunson fight: “He’s the boss”
UFC middleweight Kevin Holland says he understands why UFC president Dana White was so critical of his performance in the Derek Brunson fight.
It was just three weeks ago when Brunson and Holland met in the main event of UFC Vegas 21. Holland was the favorite to win the fight at the Vegas sportsbooks, but Brunson put on a workmanlike performance as he went to his wrestling and ground out a unanimous decision. Not only did Holland lose the fight, but he seemed more focused on talking rather than actually fighting. White very critical of Holland for his performance, suggesting Holland had a “mental breakdown.”
Despite the loss to Brunson, when the UFC needed someone to fill in for the injured Darren Till and fight Marvin Vettori at this Saturday’s UFC Vegas 23 event, the matchmakers called up Holland. He now has a great opportunity to jump back into title contention by knocking off Vettori, and that’s not lost on him. Speaking to the media ahead of Saturday’s card, Vettori said that he understands why White was upset with his performance and he promises that he’s taken his advice.
“Dana wasn’t really happy with the performance, and I can understand why he wasn’t happy with the performance. He’s the boss. He was looking forward to me doing certain things to Brunson so it can bring better revenue later on. I don’t think Brunson brings good revenue to the game or to the sport, so I can feel where he was upset from. Everybody else that was upset, shut the f*ck up, you know what I mean? So yeah, I can understand where the boss was upset from. I can understand where the boss is coming from 100%. Have I talked to him? Here and there, and he’s had things to say. Best believe I’ve had open ears and listened,” Holland said.
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