Kevin Holland squared off with Kyle Daukaus in the co-headliner of tonight’s UFC Vegas 38 event.
Holland (21-7 MMA) was looking to snap a two-fight losing skid this evening in Las Vegas. ‘Big Mouth’ had suffered back-to-back unanimous decision losses to Derek Brunson and Marvin Vettori in his most previous Octagon appearances.
Meanwhile, Kyle Daukaus (10-2 MMA) had most recently competed back in May, where he suffered a unanimous decision loss to Phil Hawes. Prior to that setback, the Philadelphia native had earned a win over Dustin Stolzfus at UFC 255.
Tonight’s UFC Vegas 38 co-main event ended in controversy. After a back and forth start the pair of middleweights clashed heads which left Kevin Holland rocked and on the canvas. Kyle Daukaus jumped all over ‘Big Mouth’ and locked in a rear-naked choke which forced Holland to tap. However, after official review it was determined that the fight would be ruled a no-contest due to the accidental head clash.
Pro fighters had mixed reactions to the ruling (see those here), with some suggesting that the wrong call was made.
For his part, Kevin Holland would just like to run things back with Kyle Daukaus, as he has little memory of the incident.
“I don’t remember anything,” Holland told reporters at the UFC Fight Night 193 post-fight press conference (via MMAJunkie). “I felt myself hit the ground and all the sudden I felt him on my back. So whatever happened in between that, that’s just goodwill and God-given.”
Kevin Holland continued:
“I want to run it back, I want to run it back right now. I want to run it back with anyone that’s gotten the better of me, so yeah, I want to run it back.” Holland said. “Sh*t, if Johnny Walker would’ve gotten hurt tonight, I would’ve gone to 205 and run it back with Thiago (Santos). I’m that guy. If he wants to go somewhere else, that’s because he felt the head-butt was the best thing that could’ve happened to him. I got respect for Kyle, Chris and the Daukaus family, but the fight game is the fight game and I don’t feel like it’s over.”
Do you want to see an immediate rematch between Kevin Holland and Kyle Daukaus following tonight’s no-contest ruling at UFC Vegas 38?