UFC 291 payouts: Utah commission releases salaries of select fighters with Kevin Holland bagging the fattest check
UFC 291 took place in Salt Lake City, Utah, on July 29, and one of the more memorable performances on the show came from Kevin Holland.
‘Trailblazer’ was able to submit Michael Chiesa in the first round with a D’Arce choke, and has since climbed up to No.12 in the UFC’s welterweight rankings.
It has also emerged that Kevin Holland made quite a solid pay check for his night’s work, which saw him emerge victorious in under three minutes.
According to the Pete Suazo Utah Athletic Commission, via a report on MMA Junkie, Holland made an official $356,000 for his victory over Chiesa.
Usually, the athletic commissions who oversee the UFC’s events don’t release any information regarding fighter pay, preferring to keep this information confidential.
However, it was revealed by manager Alex Davis prior to the event that fighters would have an option to decline to sign a pre-fight non-disclosure agreement, meaning their pay would be revealed.
This is the confidentiality and non disclosure agreement of the Utah Commission. This is the correct attitude in regards to athletes financial information. The Athlete has the right to disclose or not, his personal information. All commissions should follow Utah in regards to… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… pic.twitter.com/owq7J4aaOu
Along with Kevin Holland, three other fighters allowed their pay from UFC 291 to be revealed. These fighters were CJ Vergara, who earned $60k for his win over Vinicius Salvador, Gabriel Bonfim, who took $24k for his win over Trevin Giles, and Bobby Green, who made $300k for his victory over Tony Ferguson.
Kevin Holland, UFC 291: What advice did ‘Trailblazer’ have for Michael Chiesa?
Kevin Holland needed just over half a round to defeat Michael Chiesa at UFC 291, forcing him to submit to a D’Arce choke after fending off a series of takedowns from ‘Maverick’.
After the fight, Holland revealed that he had some sage advice for Chiesa, telling him that he ought to retire and focus on commentating for the good of his own health:
“I told him he just needs to quit fighting and start focusing on commentating. He said he’s not gonna retire, I mean, it’s his decision, but I think he should focus on commentating. I think he’s one of the better commentators. The game has circled past him and seriously left him. I see him talking about (a title). Guys, you have to be realistic, let’s be real. Some of you guys in the UFC are never gonna get a f*cking title.”
Watch Kevin Holland discuss Michael Chiesa below.
Holland’s next fight has not been announced yet, although given his keenness to take on Jack Della Maddalena just weeks before he fought Chiesa, it’s likely he’ll be back in action soon.