Saturday’s UFC 318 pay-per-view did not go to plan for the always-entertaining Kevin Holland.
The UFC’s latest PPV was headlined by a high-profile BMF title fight, as Dustin Poirier retired against Max Holloway in the final fight in a trilogy that has spanned 13 years.
While the absence of a divisional title and top-10 contenders left many criticizing the UFC 318 lineup, the card was not short on entertaining action as plenty of fighters made the most of their opportunities to impress at Poirier’s retirement event.
Among those many expected to do so was Holland, who went on a charge this year after dropping back down to welterweight, defeating Gunnar Nelson and Vicente Luque in consecutive fights to return to the rankings.
But despite being a heavy favorite over Daniel Rodriguez, ‘Trailblazer’ fell on the wrong side of a decision after he and ‘D-Rod’ brawled in New Orleans.
Kevin Holland issues first statement after UFC 318 defeat
Holland vs. Rodriguez thrilled the fans, but the defeat at Smoothie King Center marked a blow to the former’s ambitions. That’s after he had been tipped for a potential rise into title contention at 170 pounds following his quick submission win over Luque.
But ‘Trailblazer’ does not appear to be too down on himself, as he demonstrated with a fairly lighthearted first statement regarding the loss on social media.
“That boy was like a soap bar but good boxing,” Holland wrote on X. “Sorry for all the parlays we fooked up.”
The 32-year-old could find himself out of the welterweight top 15 entirely as a result of Saturday’s performance, with Rodriguez expected to inherit his No. 13 spot come Tuesday’s rankings update.
But Holland’s first loss in three fights damaged more than just his spot in the pecking order.
UFC 318 dealt a blow to Kevin Holland’s plan to record the most wins in a calendar year
Holland has undoubtedly been the UFC’s most active fighter in recent times, with the July 29 pay-per-view already marking his fourth fight of 2025.
That run put a few records in Holland’s sights, but one was likely eliminated from the equation owing to what transpired at UFC 318.
‘Big Mouth’ has expressed a desire to break his own records for both most fights and most wins in the UFC in a single calendar year. Holland tied Roger Huerta and Neil Magny for the latter record when he won five straight bouts in 2020.
A victory over Rodriguez would have been Holland’s third of this year, and given his hope to fight three more times to set the activity record, it would have kept his ambitious hope for six wins in a calendar year alive.