Kevin Holland continued his strong start to the year with a second win in his second fight. It was a dominant showing against Michael Chiesa at UFC 291, which was followed up by some harsh but honest advice from Holland for his opponent.
In a dominant showing, Holland took just under three minutes to submit Chiesa with a D'Arce choke. 'Trailblazer' spoke in the post-fight press conference and mentioned his conversation with Chiesa after the fight. Holland believes 'Maverick' is better off focusing on his career as a commentator and sports analyst.
Holland said:
“I told him he just needs to quit fighting and start focusing on commentating. He said he’s not going to retire. I mean, it’s his decision, but I think he should focus on commentating. I think he’s one of the better commentators. The game has circled past him and seriously left him. I see him talking about (a title). Guys, you have to be realistic. Let’s be real. Some of you guys in the UFC are never going to get a f*cking title."
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Kevin Holland also offered up advice for other fighters too by mentioning his own example and cautioned younger fighters from taking too much punishment:
"Buy some jewelry like me. Retire. Commentate. Focus on your family. You’re never going to get a title. You’re already collecting a check by not getting hurt, so just stop. You’re a really good commentator. There’s no reason to take brain damage. The next guy might be more dangerous than me, and he might not go for the submission. He might just keep pounding your head in. Stop while you can.”
Check out Kevin Holland's full comments on YouTube below:
Michael Chiesa says he 'ain't done yet' after submission loss to Kevin Holland
Michael Chiesa has now lost three straight fights for the first time in his UFC career. However, the welterweight has no intentions of backing down from fighting.
Chiesa took to Instagram after his tough loss to Kevin Holland and mentioned the struggle of returning from a lengthy layoff. He went on to promise that he will get back to training and return to the octagon:
"Well that sucked. Congrats to @trailblaze2top and his team. Kevin is a helluva fighter, one of the most game fighters in combat sports. I knew this was a very challenging opponent to face coming off almost a two year layoff but I’ve never said no to a fight. I’ll dust myself off, get back in the gym and get back to work. I ain’t done yet."
Check out his post below: