Miami, FL – Kevin Holland knows he was “Option B” for Michael “Venom” Page’s UFC debut this weekend, but he still feels fans are excited for their UFC 299 showdown.
“The fans are pretty happy. I tend to read the comments,” Holland (25-10, 1NC) said during Wednesday’s UFC 299 media day in Miami. “They would have been a little more happy with the ‘Wonderboy’ [Stephen Thompson] fight, which makes a lot of sense, two super experienced tradition martial artists with good backgrounds in that martial art going at it. But they got me, and I think I’m always a good option B for these guys, and that works for me.”
Page suggested in his own media day appearance that given the pair’s penchant for gabbing in the cage, it might be the first ever podcast during a live fight. Holland’s didn’t exactly deny it.
“Typical ‘Big Mouth,’ I always have a casual conversation because that’s how you rule the nation. But you know, we’ll see how much talking we do.”
Months back, when rumors of MVP versus Holland first surfaced, a mention of the fight appeared in the UFC’s “War Room” attached to UFC 297 in Toronto. Obviously, that never came to pass, but Holland confirmed the date had been offered to him, despite previously denying it.
“The original date that was way back in what, January? You know that was offered to me,” stated Holland. “I’m a rather sooner than later guy, and it seems like we’re fighting a little bit later than sooner on this one. Like I kind of put online one day, it’s a free body. It doesn’t really move you anywhere in the rankings, it doesn’t really doing anything, doesn’t give you a bonus or anything like that. It’s just a free body, and if you know me, I kind of like free bodies.”
Page had a different take on Wednesday in his own media day appearance, though it’s important to note that one side could have been offered the date without the other even being aware.
“It was never a thing. It was weird,” said Page, referring to UFC CEO Dana White’s podcast appearance, where the supposed booking was spotted. “Even when I went back to see that clip, I don’t know how somebody even managed pause it on that. I was trying so hard to see that. That was on there less than .5, a fifth of a second. How did somebody- people spend time. So I don’t know how they even found it, but it was never really a thing. I think they were just putting super match-ups on the board, and somebody happened to see it.”
Michael "Venom" Page (@MichaelPage247) says that briefly glimpsed January date with Kevin Holland was never a thing. #UFC299
Full vid: https://t.co/9c5zvWKrhT pic.twitter.com/LK8CeyeHE9
— Cageside Press (@Cagesidepress) March 6, 2024
Watch the full UFC 299 media day appearance by Kevin Holland above.
