Wonderboy Styles On Kevin Holland In AWESOME Karate vs Kung Fu Matchup
What a performance from Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson, and what a CHIN from Kevin Holland right there! THAT is a main event! Book more kung fu vs karate fights, UFC!
These guys went in there to throw down tonight, and throw down they did! Neither Thompson nor Holland were interested in any of the grappling exchanges in that one, they just wanted to swang and bang; and they covered what felt like MILES of space in the octagon advancing back and forth on each other throughout those four rounds. I'd go as far as saying that was an EASY Fight of the Year contender!
The "Trailblazer" brought the fight to Wonderboy early on, which quickly brought out the vintage Wonderboy we all know and love - throwing awesome spinning shit left and right - but Holland just ate everything Thompson had to offer for twenty minutes and talked to him the whole time. It was actually miraculous how many shots he absorbed with seemingly no damage taken - but that's Kevin Holland for ya.
Holland broke his right hand early on in the fight (he told Daniel Cormier afterwards that it was sometime in the first round) and it seemed to bother him more and more as the fight went on, leading to a corner stoppage after a very Wonderboy dominant Round 4. I was surprised the corner stopped it, to be honest (just because throwing the towel is so rare in mixed martial arts), but definitely thought it was a smart movie.
The fact that Holland still managed to put on a show and land some great shots with that broken hand blows my mind, but again - it shouldn't, because that's exactly the kind of performance we could come to expect from Holland.
As for Wonderboy - I think he found the fountain of youth. He looked as good in this fight as he's ever looked in his career. Keep matching him up with strikers who have no interest in grappling and let us watch Wonderboy cook in that cage a few more times before he calls it quits.
P.S. Jack Black couldn't walk Wonderboy out after all, but he was watching and supporting on IG Live....
