Picture Credit: Twitter
American MMA star Kevin Holland has decided to end his retirement to be back in the cage against Stephen Thompson in December. Holland shocked the MMA world when he called it a career last week. The Trailblazer suffered a brutal defeat against Khamzat Chimaev via first-round submission.
But on Wednesday, Holland announced his return to the cage through a post on his Instagram account which had photoshopped images of him and UFC President Dana White. Similarly, the post was made moments after the UFC shared the fight poster with Trailblazer’s new opponent, Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson.
The post made by UFC said, “Fight fans, have we got a gift for you 🎁 @WonderboyMMA takes on @Trailblaze2top in your #UFCOrlando main event! [ @AmwayCenter | Dec 3 | Tickets On-Sale Oct 14 🎟 ].”
Talking about Kevin Holland’s retirement, Dana White wasn't convinced that the Trailblazer was done with fighting when he made the announcement. White while talking to MMA Junkie expressed how Holland is an emotional guy and his decision to retire was an emotional one as he was also out of the Derek Brunson fight.
He said, “I think when you are competing in a sport like this, and you’ve done the things that Kevin Holland has done... he gets out of the fight against [Derek] Brunson and realises that he needs to work on his wrestling more.”
“He’s an emotional guy. I think the emotions got the best of him. Just take some time, get back in the gym and whatever he wants to do obviously – I love the kid, whatever he wants to do, he can do but it’s a little too soon for him to retire.”
With the addition of the Holland - Thompson, the UFC Orlando lineup includes:
Kevin Holland vs. Stephen Thompson
Derek Brunson vs. Jack Hermansson
Bryan Barberena vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Tracy Cortez vs. Amanda Ribas
Darren Elkins vs. Jonathan Pearce
Matheus Nicolau vs. Matt Schnell
Eryk Anders vs. Kyle Daukaus
Marc Diakiese vs. Michael Johnson
Clay Guida vs. Scott Holtzman
Emily Ducote vs. Angela Hill
Francis Marshall vs. Marcelo Rojo
Natan Levy vs. Genaro Valdez
