Terrance McKinney lauds Kevin Holland for staying true to "no takedowns" promise against Stephen Thompson
Terrance McKinney has weighed in on his friend Kevin Holland's recent matchup against Stephen Thompson. McKinney notably praised Holland for staying true to his word, as the latter had promised Thompson that he wouldn't attempt takedowns in their fight.
A widely-revered kickboxing veteran, Thompson is regarded as one of the greatest strikers in MMA. Heading into their welterweight bout that transpired earlier this month, Thompson and Holland verbally agreed to avoid takedowns and ground fighting and instead give the fans a striking war inside the octagon.
The Thompson-Holland fight ended up being just that, as Holland strictly refrained from attempting takedowns early on. Holland even landed on top of 'Wonderboy' during a sequence but refused to capitalize and let him up.
However, Holland's decision backfired. Thompson subsequently outworked him. 'Wonderboy' eventually stopped an exhausted and injured Holland via fourth-round TKO.
Gosh darn it…. we almost had the NMF out of there early!
Was an honor to share the cage with @WonderboyMMA
Wonderful times. Maybe we do it again someday #forthefans #wonderbread https://t.co/fpSoeCeO82
In an interview with The Schmo, UFC lightweight prospect Terrance McKinney was asked about the Thompson-Holland matchup. The Schmo suggested that Holland could've won if he'd taken the top position and utilized ground-and-pound/submissions after knocking Thompson down multiple times. McKinney responded by stating:
"But, you know, my man [Holland] is a true Kung Fu master. Code of honor -- He said 'no takedowns.' And the fans got an unbelievable show. Fight of the year, man; it was crazy."
Meanwhile, The Schmo insinuated that while Kevin Holland proved he was a man of the people, his decision cost him the fight and likely hurt him financially. McKinney chimed in by noting:
"I don't know. He did get the 'Fight of the Night' bonus. So, it didn't hurt him too bad."
The Schmo then indicated that Holland missed out on his win bonus and therefore took home only half of what he could've earned.
Watch McKinney discuss the topic at 2:47 in the video below:
Kevin Holland provides a post-surgery update about his hand
A second-degree black belt in Kung Fu, UFC fan-favorite Kevin Holland is currently on a two-fight losing streak and recovering from an injury. As confirmed by Holland's manager Oren Hodak, he suffered multiple metacarpal bone fractures in his right hand during the fight against Stephen Thompson.
Nevertheless, Kevin Holland was seemingly in high spirits despite his loss and injury. Taking to his official Twitter account, the 30-year-old revealed that he underwent hand surgery. Providing fans with a post-surgery update, 'Trailblazer' wrote:
"Out of surgery. All good. Just gotta figure out how to roll a blunt one handed……💨"
Out of surgery. All good. Just gotta figure out how to roll a blunt one handed……💨