Kevin Holland poses on the scale during the UFC Fight Night weigh-in at Wanda Realm Hotel on November 23, 2018 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Emmanuel Wong/Getty Images)
Kevin Holland went viral after his vicious knockout of Jacare Souza
Kevin Holland handed a vicious knockout to Jacare Souza in UFC 256. Jacare, the former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion, was initially not scheduled to fight Holland.
Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza fight was originally against Marvin Vettori. However, the main card was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which pitted Jacare against Holland in the 11th hour.
The fight ended in a disaster for the Brazilian. Holland knocked him out clean through a series of bottom-position punches and left Jacare looking dazed.
With the knockout being so brutal, fans were left understandably worried. However, Holland has clarified what happened backstage after the fight, and even had a heartwarming story to share.
Speaking to Chael Sonnen on his podcast, ‘Trailbazer’ clarified that Jacare was fine after the knockout. While the knockout looked brutal, Souza recovered from it within a few minutes.
Holland said that Jacare even handed him his gloves for his grandfather, who is a fan of the Brazilian.
Jacare Souza lost his 3rd fight in a row for the first time in his MMA career when Holland knocked him out in Las Vegas last weekend.
The 41-year-old lost to Jan Blachowicz at UFC Fight Night in November 2019. Before that, he lost by unanimous decision to Jack Hermansson in April.
His last fight came more than 2 years ago when he knocked out Chris Weidmann at UFC 230 in November 2018. That victory won the ‘Fight of the Night’ and is one of the best UFC fights in recent memory.
However, at the age of 41 and without a notable performance for more than 2 years, Souza’s future hangs in the balance.
UFC has been looking to cut down its roster in recent months and has let go of a veteran such as Anderson Silva. While Jacare is an icon within UFC, the promotion has not let sentiments get in the way when letting stars go.
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