Kevin Holland overcame concerns about his injured right hand to secure an important knockout victory against Santiago Ponzinibbio at UFC 287.
Kevin Holland scored his biggest win as a UFC welterweight this past Saturday at UFC 287, despite having a considerable handicap. Heading into his fight with Santiago Ponzinibbio, “Trailblazer” was on a two-fight skid and had suffered an injury to his right hand in his loss to Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson this past December. Up until the day of the fight, he wondered if he would be near 100 percent when he stepped into the cage.
On Monday’s “The MMA Hour,” Holland revealed, “That was my first time putting on four-ounce gloves, that day of the fight.” After putting them on and throwing a punch, he was unsure if his hand was ready for four ounces, but ultimately the injury did not appear to compromise Holland. Despite his hand, he went on to defeat Ponzinibbio by a third-round knockout.
The performance put Holland back on track, earning a 3-2 mark since dropping down to 170 pounds and beating a veteran who previously had a number next to his name in the UFC’s official rankings. According to Holland, he required surgery shortly after the Thompson fight and trained with one hand up until a few weeks before UFC 287. Despite not being completely cleared until March 24, Holland decided to “give it a shot” and fought using mostly his jab, which worked in his favor. He joked about speaking to his mother before the fight and ignoring her advice to call the whole thing off, but later added she didn’t seem concerned once the fight was over.
Holland had to take a focused approach to fighting the more experienced Ponzinibbio with one hand hampered, and he credited his creativity with helping him get the win. There’s no telling what a third straight loss would have done for Holland’s career prospects, and he admits he was feeling the pressure. Fortunately, having to rely more on his offhand turned out to be a blessing in disguise. “It was good to go out there, work one-handed,” he said. “Back was against the wall, felt like a little bit… Couple of people change on you a little bit when you’re down… It always sucks to drop two. It isn’t the first time I’ve dropped two in my career, so it’s not like it was brand new news to me or anything like that.” Holland’s father, who is left-handed, had always told him to learn how to use his left and it turned out to be his “new best friend” in this fight.