Miami, FL – Why run yourself ragged trying to make welterweight when you can call your opponent and try to make a deal for a middleweight fight? Unfortunately for UFC welterweight Kevin Holland his opponent at UFC 287 on Saturday night did not even bother to respond.
“It’s 170-pounds, but you know, closed mouths don’t get fed. I was looking at some good food down the street and I was like ‘f*ck, that sh*t smells good’. Figured i’d give it a shot. Shot didn’t work so f*ck it, keep cutting the weight,” Holland told reporters on Wednesday.
Welterweight is as competitive as divisions come, but making the weight is still work for a lot of fighters. Holland mentioned that once he made 170-pounds the UFC put him in the division even though he prefers middleweight fights.
Outside of the weight and lack of response Holland sees Ponzinibbio as a tough fighter, but not someone who presents too much of an issue for him.
“He’s a real tough guy, but that’s kind of where it is. Tough guy. Pretty good record. You look at his early fights before he got to the UFC it’s a lot of guys who are like 0-1, 3-2, 3-3. Just one of those things. I think it’s really smart for coaches to do it for fighters. I really think it’s smart for organizations to (build) fighters up so they can make it to the big show and make good check,” he said.
“But me personally it’s not the way I get down. Props to the guy kudos to him. Tough guy. (Alex) Morono was touching him up, I look to do the same.”
Would a win over Ponzinibbio be a big win for Holland, the welterweight quickly shook his head, and answered.
“No, not really. (Stephen) Wonderboy (Thompson) or (Khamzat) Chimaev would have been a big win. (Derek) Brunson or (Marvin) Vettori probably would have been a big win. They’ve been in the top 15 for how long? All these other wins are good paychecks in the bank,” he said.
Watch the entire media day scrum with Kevin Holland above. He takes on Santiago Ponzinibbio at UFC 287 on Saturday night.
