A charismatic UFC 316 fighter got dominantly out-wrestled in front of a live-streaming Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The Octagon is back in Newark on Saturday, June 7, as the UFC 316 pay-per-view takes place at the Prudential Center.
Headlining will be Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley’s bantamweight title rematch, while the co-main event sees Julianna Pena and Kayla Harrison fight for the women’s 135-pound championship.
A number of notable names have filled the undercard, including a man who had one of the most memorable moments of his UFC career in defeat.
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Kevin Holland requested cageside advice from Khabib Nurmagomedov as he live-streamed on Instagram
Holland enjoyed a record-breaking 2020 in the UFC, as he became the first fighter to win five bouts in the space of one calendar year.
With that in mind, ‘Big Mouth’ entered 2021 with plenty of hype behind him, but that came to a crashing halt in his main event debut opposite middleweight mainstay Derek Brunson.
The pair headlined UFC Vegas 22 at the Apex, where Holland had his grappling deficiencies exposed.
Most of the entertainment came outside of the cage, where the great Khabib Nurmagomedov sat alongside Dana White.
After his frequent tirades against illegal streamers, White found himself next to one as Nurmagomedov streamed the UFC main event live on Instagram.
Both Nurmagomedov’s camera and the UFC broadcast picked up Holland hilariously pleading for wrestling advice from the Dagestani as Brunson had his way with him on the ground.
“Everybody knows Khabib is not only the greatest wrestler in the world but one of the greatest wrestling coaches in the world,” Holland said in his corner.
“I usually ask DC [Daniel Cormier] for advice! But now I’m trying to ask you.”
The amused former lightweight champion responded, urging Holland to remain focused.
“He’s funny,” Nurmagomedov said to his viewers, before turning his attention to Holland. “Keep focus! Focus, focus! Derek is there! Brunson there, let’s go, let’s go.
“You have to stop his wrestling,” Nurmagomedov shouted during another break between rounds. “Control your hips! … Move, move around!”
The Dagestani’s efforts were ultimately in vain. Holland fell to a lopsided defeat after five rounds, with the judges turning in scorecards of 49-45, 49-46, and 49-46 in Brunson’s favor.
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Kevin Holland faces a submission specialist at UFC 316
‘Trailblazer’ may well need to utilize his ground game when he returns to action at UFC 316.
Holland is set to fight Vicente Luque on the main card, three months on from the fan favorite’s victory over Gunnar Nelson at UFC London.
That result brought a two-fight losing skid to an end for Holland, who previously fell to defeat via TKO and submission to middleweights Roman Dolidze and Reinier de Ridder, respectively.
And Holland doesn’t plan on slowing down after his third fight of 2025.
The 32-year-old seemingly wants to replicate his 2020 feat of activity by making a quick return in August, opening up the calendar for a possible fifth outing of the year in quarter four of 2025.
First things first, though, Holland will need to contend with Luque searching for his neck and yet another D’arce choke at UFC 316.