UFC welterweights Kevin Holland and Daniel Rodriguez treated fight fans to one of the greatest scraps in the promotion’s history.
About an hour before BMF titleholder Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier entered the cage for their headliner at UFC 318, welterweights Kevin Holland and Daniel Rodriguez spoiled fans with a BMF-esque firefight on the main card.
Holland and Rodriguez were expected to put on a wild war inside the Octagon at UFC 318. But on a card headlined by two UFC legends, their welterweight matchup flew under-the-radar.
The fight delivered an instant classic finish that sent the New Orleans crowd into a frenzy.
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Kevin Holland vs. Daniel Rodriguez Round 3 is one of the greatest five-minute periods in UFC history
Holland and Rodriguez went after it from the opening horn, as the two threw big shots in the opening minutes of the fight. Both fighters landed 48 strikes apiece in an insanely close first round of the bout.
Rodriguez picked up the pressure on Holland in Round 2, dropping the UFC fan favorite with a big right hand that sent Holland’s eyes drifting to the back of his head. Despite Holland nearly going out cold, he was able to survive a stoppage as Rodriguez rained down brutal ground-and-pound strikes to finish the second round.
Round 3 will be etched in UFC history forever. Holland was on the verge of a come-from-behind win when he dropped Rodriguez with a right uppercut. A gassed Rodriguez appears on the cusp of quitting, but miraculously weathered Holland’s ground-and-pound offense and escaped a nasty d’arce choke submission attempt.
As the seconds ticked down in Round 3, Rodriguez was able to reverse into top mount and control Holland as the fight concluded. After three rounds, Rodriguez earned the unanimous decision nod.
UFC fans went crazy on social media watching Holland vs. Rodriguez.
“Holland vs. D Rod fight of the night,” former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo wrote on X.
“What a banger you have to give these guys 50k. Congrats D-Rod,” UFC featherweight Brian Ortega said.
“This is totally off the rails,” one fan wrote.
“Fight of the Night! Give them the bonus!”
“That was one **** of a fight!”
“They both emptied their gas tanks! Never a dull fight with Kevin Holland.”
“FOTY contender! Third round was the best round in a long time!”
“Pure heart from both men!”
“That was amazing. Insane to watch!”
“Give them the championship rounds!”
Holland entered UFC 318 off of back-to-back wins over Gunnar Nelson and Vicente Luque earlier this year. Saturday marked Holland’s fourth fight of the year with several months to go.
Rodriguez will enter the welterweight Top 15 after UFC 318 following his third-consecutive win. He defeated Santiago Ponzinibbio and Alex Morono in recent months following a three-fight losing streak.
Kevin Holland vs. Daniel Rodriguez added to a wild night at UFC 318
Holland vs. Rodriguez wasn’t the only major highlight from an eventful night at UFC 318.
Former UFC middleweight title challenger Paulo Costa returned to the win column after a three-year hiatus with a unanimous decision victory over Roman Kopylov. Earlier on the UFC 318 main card, Michael Johnson pulled off the upset of the night by outpointing Daniel Zellhuber.
Middleweights Ateba Gautier and Brunno Ferreira earned wild finishes on the prelims, and hometown hero Carli Judice started the night off with a knee knockout.
Catch up on all the latest highlights and news from UFC 318 here at Bloody Elbow.
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