While UFC 307 kept entertaining the fighting community to great ends, the second fight on the main card had the world worried. As Roman Dolidze and Kevin Holland fought each other with great enthusiasm, a mishap turned the bout in the Georgian fighter’s favor. 

As soon as the horn declared the end of the first round, Holland stood up and pointed at his chest. Indeed, there was something wrong with the ‘Trailblazer’. Let’s find out what happened to the 31-year-old mixed martial artist.

Kevin Holland gets injured while fighting Roman Dolidze at UFC 307

The bout began with Dolidze throwing a couple of kicks in Holland’s way, and the duo exchanged a few strikes. But soon, the Georgian charged at Holland took the fight to the ground. A little bit of ground and pound puts ‘Trailblazer’ in a clinch. Holland tries to roll out of Dolidze’s control, while he desperately tried to break his opponent’s guard. 

Soon, Holland goes in for an armbar and that’s when things get bad for the American. Despite the pain, Holland doesn’t give up. And as soon as the horn marks the end of the first round, he stands up and awkwardly points at his ribs. Apparently, during the rollout, ‘Trailblazer’s rib’s broken. This had a significant effect on his breathing patterns, as well. 

The MMA reporter, Nolan King, confirms the damage on social media. Taking to X, King wrote, “It appears Kevin Holland suffered a rib injury. He’s in significant pain. Coach Bob Perez discussing with his fighter if they should continue.” But the fight was turned in favor of Dolidze, as Holland was left unable to continue. With the pain and risk of getting his lungs punctured, the fight was called off.

UFC 307 was definitely not the first time when Holland’s coach threw in the towel and pulled the fighter out of the bout owing to an injury. Let’s take a look at what Bob Perez had to say about pulling Holland out of UFC on ESPN 42.

‘Trailblazer’s coach reflects on why he threw in the towel at UFC on ESPN 42

Back in 2022, Kevin Holland took on Stephen Thompson in the main event for UFC Orlando. But when Perez saw that Holland was simply backing up in the 4th round, he got worried. Before the beginning of the final round, Holland told his coach that his arm wasn’t working properly and asked to stop the fight.

Talking to MMA Junkie, the coach said, “My primary job there is to protect him. I would do the same for you or any other fighter. You have to prevent. People can die in there, man. I think as fans, we tend to forget that. They can die in there. It could’ve been career-ending or permanent, permanent damage that could’ve been done to his hand. Thankfully, it’s not that bad.”

Nevertheless, things will get better for the middleweight fighter and he will return with a newfound power. Till then, all he needs to do is let his ribs repair themselves and bounce back into the Octagon later on.

What are your thoughts on the gruesome injury? Do you think Holland could have won if he hadn’t got injured at UFC 307? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.