Kevin Holland capped off his whirlwind two-week UFC Vegas 5 and UFC Vegas 6 stint with a highlight reel knockout of Joaquin Buckley. It was the perfect ending for Holland, who stayed in Las Vegas an extra week to compete after his opponent, Trevin Giles, fainted moments before their bout on August 1, 2020.
Buckley came out aggressively, trying to earn a quick knockout in his short notice UFC debut. Holland stayed methodical and relied on an explosive right hand down the pipe to drop Buckley in the first round. Buckley was able to pop back up and recover quickly, extending the entertaining matchup to the second round.
The game plan didn’t change for either fighter in the second round, producing similar results until it was that same right hand that Holland used in the first round that finished Buckley in the opening moments of the third round.
Holland improved to 18-5 with the win, earning his second KO victory since May.
“That was Sean O’Malley type stuff right there,” Holland told UFC.com after the KO. “That was pretty cool.”
