Kevin Holland is planning on letting his actions speak for themselves tonight at UFC Vegas 22, but he also plans on speaking in the process.
One of the things Kevin Holland is best known for is his trash talk and casual conversation in the middle of a fight. But what might not be as well known about the Texan is that he likes to interact with his opponents even prior to stepping into the Octagon against them. This has been the case leading up to Holland’s UFC Vegas 22 main event against Derek Brunson, but you can’t have a conversation if the other half refuses to participate. So when “Big Mouth” ran into Derek Brunson backstage during fight week, he wanted to know why his overtures went ignored.
“Nah, I was just telling him, I don’t understand why he ain’t been responding to my DMs all week,” Holland told media members of his backstage exchange with Brunson. “He said it was no hard feelings, so I don’t understand why he ain’t responding to me. We’re both here to get paid, so I figured the two people who were gonna make the money would have a good conversation with each other before the fight.”
Even though Holland’s DMs went ignored, he still literally tapped that ass when he and Brunson met up at the UFC Vegas 22 weigh-ins. Holland began their awkward face-off by continuing their one-sided conversation in person, and Brunson remained stiff and unresponsive before he ultimately came to life and tapped Holland on the backside as well before the two exited the stage.
It’s unclear if this exchange altered Holland’s opinion of Brunson at all, but a day earlier, he expressed some doubts about Brunson’s mentality but ultimately believes the two will have plenty to say to one another in a healthy, two-sided conversation in the Octagon.
“I just don’t think he wants to take my mental warfare,” Holland said. “I just want to have a good, casual conversation right now and in the cage. He doesn’t want to have one at all. So we’ll just have one inside the cage.
“He opened his mouth a little bit, and I can tell you right now, that’s one thing his coaches probably didn’t want him to do. So since he’s down to talk now, he’ll be down to talk then.”
Who do you expect to win the conversation of fisticuffs when Kevin Holland faces Derek Brunson in the UFC Vegas 22 main event?