logo
UFC 316: 'I just like beating people up,' says Kevin Holland ahead of Vicente Luque fight

UFC 316: 'I just like beating people up,' says Kevin Holland ahead of Vicente Luque fight

The Hindu06-06-2025
This weekend's Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will see one of its most active fighters enter the ring at the Prudential Centre in New Jersey.
Veteran Kevin Holland will share the cage with fellow old-timer Vicente Luque in a welterweight bout on Sunday. The event will be headlined by the bantamweight title bout between reigning champion Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O'Malley.
Holland, who equalled the record of most fights (5) in a year back in 2020, will be back in action for his third fight of 2025.
The mantra behind being active is simple for Holland. 'It doesn't matter if the fight is pay-per-view or fight night; I'm just happy to get out there and put one out for the people,' the 32-year-old said in an interaction with Sportstar.
'I'm annoying, and the matchmakers know it. So, they just book me before I get annoyed,' he added.
From Khamzat Chimaev to current division champion Jack Della Maddalena, Holland has seen it all in his division.
His upcoming challenge is expected to be extremely challenging.
With 20 finishes in 23 wins, Luque could pose a strong threat to Holland, who has an equally impressive 22 finishes in 27 bouts. 'For me, all the fighters are the same. We think about them one way, but they get grapple heavy. So, I'm ready for his grappling, and his are pretty understandable, and I'll be careful about that as well,' Holland said.
'Don't think it'll be hard, and hopefully I've prepared right. I've been doing this for a long time. Regardless of the changes we make during training, what is important is to make changes on the fly inside the cage,' he added.
Holland has been in and out of the top 15 rankings of his division, and three losses in his last five bouts meant he was pushed out of the table. A win would put him back into the top 15, paving the way for a shot at the belt.
However, Holland emphasises that the UFC is much more than just numbers. 'For me, all wins are important, and I don't really stress on numbers. I just like beating people up. I'll just show up looking to win,' he concluded.
Streaming information
Watch the UFC 316 - Dvalishvili vs. O'Malley 2 on 8th June 2025 at 7:30 AM IST live on Sony Sports Ten 2 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 3 SD & HD (Hindi), Sony Sports Ten 4 SD & HD (Tamil & Telugu).
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

UFC Abu Dhabi: Three fighters end up in hospital after brutal bouts
UFC Abu Dhabi: Three fighters end up in hospital after brutal bouts

Economic Times

time2 hours ago

  • Economic Times

UFC Abu Dhabi: Three fighters end up in hospital after brutal bouts

Mohammad Yahya, Amanda Ribas and Shara Magomedov have been transported to a local hospital in Abu Dhabi following their brutal fights. (Image Credit: X) UFC Abu Dhabi delivered intense action and brutal battles, leaving three fighters hospitalised following a night of blood-soaked contests. The event saw several grueling bouts that pushed athletes to their physical limits. While none of the injuries were reported as life-threatening, the fighters sustained deep cuts and fractures. According to Mohammad Yahya, Amanda Ribas and Shara Magomedov have been transported to a local hospital in Abu Dhabi following their fights. Featherweight fighter Yahya was transported for a precautionary CT scan of his head and face after a devastating loss to Steven Nguyen, who knocked Yahya down six times - a new UFC single-fight record - before the bout was stopped. With an 0-3 UFC record, Yahya's future in the promotion now appears uncertain. In the women's strawweight division, Ribas was hospitalised after suffering a brutal elbow to the eye socket from Tabatha Ricci, which led to a finish. Ribas later confirmed on social media she will require facial surgery. The loss marks her third straight defeat and second consecutive stoppage. — BigMarcel24 (@BigMarcel24) Meanwhile, middleweight Magomedov - fighting with vision in only one eye - was also taken to the hospital for head and facial scans after his bloody war with Marc-Andre Barriault. Despite suffering a severely broken nose, Magomedov won by unanimous decision and earned 'Fight of the Night' honors. His nose was reportedly reset at the hospital, and scan results are pending. — CookedByHR (@CookedByHR)

ENG vs IND 4th Test: The theatre of refusal
ENG vs IND 4th Test: The theatre of refusal

The Hindu

time3 hours ago

  • The Hindu

ENG vs IND 4th Test: The theatre of refusal

By the time Ben Stokes extended his hand, England had exhausted its. The host had tried swing, seam, short balls, and long spells. It had coaxed, cajoled, and, as the final hour arrived, hoped. And yet, as the England captain approached India's unbeaten pair of Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja with an offer of truce on the final afternoon in Manchester, it was declined. Firmly. This was the fourth Test of a finely poised series. India, trailing 1–2, had spent the better part of five sessions clawing its way out from under. The deciding fifth Test, at The Oval, loomed just three days away. There was logic in Stokes' gesture. There was resolve in India's refusal. There is, rightly, much talk about the 'spirit of cricket'. It is often treated as a lofty idea, upheld or undermined by grand gestures. But most of cricket's spirit resides in the mundane: how a batter walks away from a caught-behind, how a fielder reacts to a poor decision, how a team defends a draw when a win is out of reach. ALSO READ | Stokes ready to deal with increased workload, optimistic about playing in 5th Test India had been asked to do something almost anachronistic in this era of T20 muscle memory: bat five sessions to save a Test. And it did so without fuss or controversy. On a day when England expected cracks to appear, all it found were dead ends. So, when Jadeja and Sundar declined the early handshake, it was not a rejection of sportsmanship but an assertion of something more grounded: the right to finish the job, on their terms. A century apiece beckoned. The bowlers, meanwhile, would have to carry their burdens just a little longer. That small act acquired a little more colour in the post-match retelling. The stump mic caught a voice, later attributed to Stokes, asking: 'Jaddu, do you want to get a Test hundred against Brook and Duckett?' Jadeja responded, 'What do you want me to do, just walk off?' To which Zak Crawley, never one to miss a cue, offered: 'You can, just shake your hand.' "If you want a hundred, you should have batted like it earlier" "You're going to get a Test hundred against Harry Brook & Ben Duckett" #ENGvIND | # — Sportstar (@sportstarweb) July 27, 2025 And then came the theatre. Brook, fresh from playing supporting actor on the stump mic, was handed the ball. This was cricket as a gesture, a theatrical shrug dressed up as a spell. The deliveries floated down like reluctant emails. The fielders loitered with the listlessness of extras waiting to be cut. Jadeja and Sundar, having already declined the earlier invitation to vacate the crease, now helped themselves to the buffet. Each raised a century. The stand ballooned to 203. Brook's spell will not be remembered as much for what it was, but for how it wasn't anything else. Amid all this, Stokes looked perplexed. Some saw it as a misreading of the moment; others as a glimpse of pragmatism disguised as nobility. But neither party was wrong. England sought rest and renewal. India sought reward and recognition. The game, in its quiet, unglamorous way, allowed space for both. In the end, the draw was agreed upon with 10 overs left. The match, one of grit rather than glory, may not linger in highlight reels, but it deserves a place in cricket's ever-complicated ledger of honour. For it showed that the spirit of the game is not always in the handshake itself, but sometimes in the reason it must wait.

WATCH: Jadeja, Washington refuse Ben Stokes' draw offer in final-session drama at Old Trafford
WATCH: Jadeja, Washington refuse Ben Stokes' draw offer in final-session drama at Old Trafford

The Hindu

time14 hours ago

  • The Hindu

WATCH: Jadeja, Washington refuse Ben Stokes' draw offer in final-session drama at Old Trafford

Tempers flared between India and England once more in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy as Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar refused England's offer to draw the Test match in the final session of the fourth Test in Manchester on Sunday. With the possibility of a win over, England captain Ben Stokes went up to Jadeja to end the contest. The Indian batters, though, wanted the match to carry on for longer. Jadeja was batting on 90 while Washington, on 84, was on the cusp of a maiden Test century. "If you want a hundred, you should have batted like it earlier" "You're going to get a Test hundred against Harry Brook & Ben Duckett" #ENGvIND | # — Sportstar (@sportstarweb) July 27, 2025 According to rule 12.7.6 in the ICC Test playing conditions, 'On the final day, if both captains (the batters at the wicket may act for their captain) accept that there is no prospect of either side achieving a victory, they may agree to finish the match after (a) the time for the commencement of the last hour has been reached OR (b) there are a minimum of 15 overs to be bowled, whichever is the later.' Upon the Indians' insistence to carry on the contest, Stokes was heard at the stump mic saying, 'Jaddu, do you want to get a Test 100 against Brook & Duckett?' Other England players Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett and Harry Brook also exchanged words with the batters. Brook offered full tosses to Jadeja in his next over, which Jadeja hit for a six and four through the on side to complete his century. Washington, too, reached his century off Brook, hitting him inside out over covers.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store