Kyle Daukaus was left feeling annoyed after his fight with Kevin Holland at UFC Vegas 38 was ruled a no-contest by promotional officials.
Daukaus (10-2 MMA) had entered tonight’s co-main event looking to rebound, this after suffering a unanimous decision loss to Phil Hawes in his most previous effort back in May. Prior to that setback, the Philadelphia native was coming off a unanimous decision victory over Dustin Stolzfus at UFC 255.
Meanwhile, Kevin Holland (21-7 MMA) was looking to snap a two-fight losing skid when he took to the cage this evening. ‘Big Mouth’ had suffered back-to-back unanimous decision losses to Derek Brunson and Marvin Vettori in his most previous Octagon appearances.
Tonight’s UFC Vegas 38 co-main event between Daukaus and Holland unfortunately ended in controversy. After a back and forth start to the fight, the pair of middleweights wound up clashing heads which left Kevin Holland rocked and on the canvas.
Kyle Daukaus quickly jumped all over ‘Big Mouth’ and locked in a rear-naked choke which forced Holland to tap. However, after an official review, it was determined that the fight would be ruled a no-contest due to the accidental head clash.
Daukaus was not happy with the ruling and let his feeling be known during the UFC Vegas 38 post-fight press conference.
“It just annoys me,” Daukaus explained (via MMAJunkie). “He did recover from the head-butt in a way, and Dan (the referee) didn’t say anything while we were in there. He was still fighting, so it was fine, to me it was fine. If that would’ve happened to me, it would have been fine. If he would’ve stood back up and if he would’ve gotten back to his feet and knock me senseless, they would’ve made it a big deal about him on ESPN saying, ‘Oh, he suffered a head-butt and then got up and knocked me out.’ But because he recovers off of a head-butt gives up his back and I choke him, I get a no contest.”
As for Kevin Holland’s request for a rematch, Kyle Daukaus is all for running things back.
“It will bother me and it’s still going to bother me,” Daukaus said. “It’s going to haunt me until I get the win, so it’s only more motivation throughout training.”
Did you agree with tonight’s Holland vs. Daukaus fight being ruled a no-contest? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!