When Kevin Holland was booked to fight Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson for the UFC’s December 3rd card, MMA fans around the world rejoiced. Two fan-favorite strikers going at it in what looks to be a stacked fight night card, what’s not to like?
Apparently quite a bit, at least according to former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen. In a recent episode on his YouTube channel, Sonnen called it “the worst fight Kevin Holland could have taken.” This statement seems odd, particularly to those that have watched (or listened) to Kevin Holland over the course of his UFC run.
It’s no secret that Holland has trouble with wrestlers in the UFC. In his most recent appearance, “Trailblazer” was ragdolled by Khamzat Chimaev and submitted without landing a single strike. Prior to that, he suffered dominating losses to Derek Brunson and Marvin Vettori.
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There is absolutely no danger of Stephen Thompson doing that to him. Thompson is a striker through and through. In fact, he’s faced similar problems to Holland in his last two bouts. He lost decisions to Belal Muhammad and Gilbert Burns, both of whom outclassed Thompson on the ground.
Sonnen argues that Thompson’s reputation as a striker is actually bad for Holland.
“Look at what’s on Kevin’s shoulders, he’s openly telling us I can’t deal with wrestlers, now he’s going to deal with a striker. If he can’t be a striker then what do you do, what do you got left?,” Sonnen said. “Now it’s not a matter of ‘I’m retired, I’m stepping away.’ You will be thrown out if you now can’t beat the striker after you’ve told us that you can’t beat the wrestler. It’s a really hard spot, I was surprised that he took the match. I really was.”
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Sonnen’s overall point boils down to this: if Holland cannot beat top level wrestlers or strikers in the UFC, then there is no place for him in the organization. While the sentiment is understandable, it seems a tad hyperbolic to say that Holland will be “thrown out” with a loss to Thompson. After all, Holland finished both of his fights at welterweight. On top of that, UFC boss Dana White has repeatedly said that he “loves him.”
There’s also no shame in losing to Stephen Thompson, who outclasses practically every striker he fights.
What do you think of Sonnen’s comments? Is Kevin Holland done if he loses his next fight?
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