LAS VEGAS – Kevin Holland already defeated one “Cowboy,” but has walked back his callout of a second one.
In the cage after his UFC 272 TKO win against Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira, Holland (22-7 MMA, 9-4 UFC) indicated he’d be willing to take out another “Cowboy,” subtly indicating Donald Cerrone, who sat cageside in Las Vegas.
However, at his post-fight news conference Saturday after his successful return to welterweight, Holland back-tracked his callout and focused on a different name instead. Rather than fight the “OG,” Holland is interested in a bout against Cerrone’s protege, Daniel Rodriguez. Holland was scheduled to fight Rodriguez (16-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) at UFC on ESPN 9 in May 2020, but withdrew due to injury.
“I was just throwing up stupid sh*t,” Holland said, of the original callout. “I be just talking. I think the the other ‘Cowboy’ and me should not fight, to be honest with you. I think I should be fighting Daniel Rodriguez next, just because last time I called out ‘Cowboy,’ Daniel Rodriguez hopped in my inbox and was like, ‘Yo, don’t do that. That’s my OG.’ So respect to both of those guys.
“Of course I’d like to fight the OG, but sometimes you’ve got to take out the student to take out the OG. If I take out the student, I don’t even really feel like I need to take out the OG. It’d be nice to have the name on the board, but at the end of the day, I’m a big ‘Cowboy’ fan. So, it probably wouldn’t even make me feel as good as I think it would.”
With a reputation built on being an “anywhere, anyone, anytime” fighter during his middleweight days, Holland said he’s going to take it a tad slower at welterweight now that he’s cutting weight. However, his pace is still accelerated compared to the average fighter, he indicated.
“Honestly, I don’t f*cking know,” Holland said. “I just want to fight. I just want to fight. I’ll fight everybody. … I can fight way more frequently at 185, of course. At 170, I do need some weeks to make sure my body adjusts and does everything right. I do not want to have a bad weight cut ever.
“… Even when I win a fight at 185, I’m like, ‘You lucky bastard.’ It’s just one of those things. I always say I could be a better athlete, a more professional athlete. Back in the day, when I used to cut to 170, I used to be so mean to my mom. I used to be so mean to my little brother. I used to be so mean to everybody around me when I used to cut weight. I didn’t want to be that person again. I was happy to be out here for two weeks and not be around the family. But I didn’t even get an attitude like this this time.”
UFC 272 took place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena. The main card streamed on ESPN+ pay-per-view after prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.
