Watch: Kevin Holland apologizes to ABC network for cussing during his fight at UFC Vegas 23
Kevin Holland promptly apologized for cursing on live television in his headliner bout at UFC Vegas 23. Holland was getting manhandled on the mat by his opponent, Marvin Vettori, and seemed frustrated in-between rounds.
Marvin Vettori brilliantly implemented the perfect game plan to outclass Kevin Holland on the ground. 'Trailblazer', who was coming off a 5-round domination by Derek Brunson at UFC Vegas 22, did not have a response to Vettori's elite grappling skills.
The Italian Dream's unrelenting takedown attempts appeared to have frustrated Kevin Holland, as 'Trailblazer' loudly cursed during a one minute intermission between rounds. Holland immediately proceeded to apologize to ABC Network for cussing during the live broadcast.
UFC Vegas 23 became the second UFC event to be broadcast live on ABC Network. UFC Fight Island 7 (Max Holloway vs. Calvin Kattar) was the promotion's first event to be televised on ABC.
Why was Kevin Holland upset at UFC Vegas 23?
Marvin Vettori broke the record for most successful takedown attempts in the middleweight division against Kevin Holland. Being on the receiving end of those takedowns, Holland's frustration shouldn't come as a surprise.
In a post-fight interview with ESPN, 'Trailblazer' mentioned his plans to work with Daniel Cormier to bring the required adjustments to his fighting style:
"We’ll see what it is. You know, I just honestly don’t know. Go and spend some time with DC (Daniel Cormier) for sure, work on some of that wrestling things. Go work on wrestling of course, gotta stop some of these takedowns.
"Other than that, same old same. I am not gonna change the fighter I am and try and become a wrestler just cause all these guys wanna wrestle. I like to strike, I like to bang, I will just do a better job at keeping the fight up on its feet and deliver some more knockouts to the people. That way they will be back on the bandwagon sooner or later", said Kevin Holland.
Kevin Holland most certainly did not have time to improve his grappling skills, considering he made the quickest main event turnaround in UFC history. The surging middleweight's grappling acumen will certainly expand once he starts training under Daniel Cormier, a former NCAA Division-1 wrestler.