Stephen
Thompson and Kevin
Holland had a sort of gentlemen’s agreement heading into their
headlining bout at
UFC on ESPN 42.
Advertisement
It resulted in one of the year’s most entertaining bouts, as
Thompson and Holland engaged in a standup-friendly affair that
resulted in a technical knockout victory for “Wonderboy” after four
rounds. While Holland landed a pair of takedowns in the contest, on
both occasions he elected to let his opponent up rather than rack
up top control time. That was a theme for the entire fight.
“It was kind of one of those unwritten rules that we had going into
this fight,” Thompson said at Saturday’s post-fight press
conference. “I know later on in rounds he was shooting, I know he
had a busted hand, but I think I fell down in the first round and
he let me back up. He told me in the first round, he’s like, ‘Hey,
I’m not taking you down.’ I’m like, ‘All right, man. Sounds good to
me.’”
Early on, that seemed to favor Holland, who staggered Thompson with
an overhand right in Round 1 and did further damage with knees and
elbows. Unfortunately for the Dana White’s Contender Series alum,
he appeared to suffer a hand injury that hindered his effectiveness
the rest of the way.
“I did feel that. I had to weather the storm,” Thompson said. “He
threw a lot of elbows at well that staggered me a little bit, but I
had to keep moving as well. I’ve got a hard head and I weathered
the storm and got the W.”
Over the next three rounds, “Wonderboy” took control through a
multifaceted arsenal that included a variety of kicks, stinging
punches and effective movement. Ultimately, that prompted Holland’s
corner to call off the bout before the fifth frame. After
struggling against grappling-minded foes Belal
Muhammad and Gilbert
Burns in his previous two Octagon appearances, Thompson was
pleased to be able to showcase his skills on Saturday night in
Orlando. The South Carolinian encouraged UFC matchmakers to give
him more favorable stylistic pairings in the future.
“If you guys want more fights like that, give me a striker, baby,”
Thompson said. “Give me a striker. Of course, I’m always looking
for the title and that’s always at the top of the list, but why not
have some fun fights on the way?”