" I'm really glad it's this one"- 'Big' John McCarthy and Josh Thomson explain why Stephen Thompson and Kevin Holland are the perfect fight for each other at this point in their careers
John McCarthy and Josh Thomson have weighed in on the newly-announced UFC Orlando main event.
UFC Orlando on December 3 was without a main event before a welterweight matchup between Kevin Holland and Stephen Thompson materialized. Both fighters are coming off losses but are finally getting a bout against another striker to show off their creative skills.
During an episode of Weighing In, Thomson and McCarthy discussed Holland vs. Thompson, with the former UFC fighter approving of the main event:
“I’m looking forward to it. When I saw this, I was like, oh, ok, thank you. I’m gonna say thank you for this 'cause I like this fight. I really like this fight.”
McCarthy then responded with a reference to Holland’s short retirement:
“If Kevin Holland was gonna come off of retirement after three hours into a fight, I’m really glad it’s this one [against Stephen Thompson], and I will never ever believe him when he says 'I’m retired' again.”
Take a look at Kevin Holland announcing his retirement, which was mentioned by John McCarthy, below:
Did Kevin Holland just retire?🤣🤣🤣
#UFC #MMA https://t.co/HZDVtEywUp
Holland last fought Khamzat Chimaev on a day's notice after the infamous UFC 279 fallout. ‘Trailblazer’ then announced his retirement, but ultimately unretired quickly to fight Thompson at UFC Orlando.
Watch John McCarthy and Josh Thomson discuss Holland vs. Thompson below:
Josh Thomson tells John McCarthy he would've retired if he got a similar payday to Kevin Holland's for UFC 279
Holland’s short-lived retirement somewhat shocked the MMA world. Most people were happy for him but wondered how much money ‘Trailblazer’ would miss out on now that he’s well-known.
During the same episode, Thompson referred to McCarthy’s insider information on Holland’s payday against Chimaev:
“We talked about him retiring. The reason we said, if it did happen, we understood is because of John’s previous insider information on what he made his last fight. He made a ton of money… If I had made that much money for one fight, I probably would’ve maybe retired too."
At 29 years old, Holland has plenty of time left in the octagon, especially if he gets striking matchups like Thompson. On December 3, ‘Trailblazer’ has the opportunity to get back on track against the always-dangerous ‘Wonderboy'.
Fight fans, have we got a gift for you 🎁
@WonderboyMMA takes on @Trailblaze2top in your #UFCOrlando main event!
[ @AmwayCenter | Dec 3 | Tickets On-Sale Oct 14 🎟 | UFC.com/Presale ] https://t.co/N7hI2QdGHp