Things got a bit nutty in the UFC Fight Night 262 co-main event Saturday.
Mike Malott defeated Kevin Holland by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. However, the fight was marred by repeated nut shots, elongated injury check-ins, and a noticeably hindered fighter.
After some exciting scrambles in the early stages of Round 1, Malott (13-2-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) hit Holland (28-15 MMA, 15-12 UFC) in the groin. The second shot was a loud connection with the cup that sent Holland crashing to the canvas. As Holland writhed in pain, referee Dan Miragliotta gave Malott a warning and five recovery minutes were put on the clock.
Miragliotta and the commission elected not to deduct a point from Malott. Meanwhile, Holland utilized all five minutes he was allotted. As Miragliotta asked him if he could continue, Holland did not seem to give a definitive answer. However, the action was called to resume anyway.
Holland repeatedly clutched his cup, struggling to finish the round. Prior to the start of Round 2, a doctor was brought in. Holland, again, did not give him an answer as to whether or not he could continue. Then, UFC doctor Jeff Davidson entered the cage. Despite the lack of concise communication, the fight continued again.
Holland hung in the fight for the remaining 10 minutes, frequently grabbing at his genitalia. Malott did enough to edge Holland out late and won the unanimous decision nod from the judges.
Malott has won three fights in a row since his only UFC loss to date, which came against Neil Magny. Holland has now lost back-to-back fights and six of his most recent nine.
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 262 results:
- Mike Malott def. Kevin Holland via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Aiemann Zahabi def. Marlon Vera via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Manon Fiorot def. Jasmine Jasudavicius via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:14
- Charles Jourdain def. Davey Grant via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 3:05
- Kyle Nelson def. Matt Frevola via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Drew Dober def. Kyle Prepolec via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 1:16
- Aori Qileng def. Cody Gibson via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:21
- Bruno Silva def. HyunSung Park via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 2:15
- Djorden Santos def. Danny Barlow via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Stephanie Luciano def. Ravena Oliveira via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 2:50
- Yousri Belgaroui def. Azamat Bekoev via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 0:55
- Melissa Croden def. Tainara Lisboa via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 4:32