'He's so average'… Robert Whittaker shares brutal assessment of middleweight choked out at UFC 311
01/21/2025 02:59 PM
Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker doesn’t think highly of Kevin Holland after the middleweight’s performance at UFC 311.
Recent UFC newcomer Reinier de Ridder made quick work of Kevin Holland on the UFC 311 main card last Saturday in Los Angeles. Just minutes into the fight, De Ridder got a hold of Holland’s back and secured a rear-naked choke submission to move to 2-0 in his promotional tenure.
Once the fight got to the ground, the former ONE double champ De Ridder easily controlled Holland, eventually forcing a quick tap. Switching between welterweight and middleweight during his career, Holland has lost four of his last five fights.
The UFC broadcast team, including Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier, opined Holland should fight at welterweight for the remainder of his career after another lopsided defeat at middleweight. While he’s earned some impressive wins at 185lbs, he’s struggled to fend off some of the top grapplers of the division and is often at a size disadvantage.
Robert Whittaker, who is coming off of a submission loss in his most recent outing, shared a harsh assessment of Holland after UFC 311.
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Robert Whittaker slams Kevin Holland after latest submission loss
In a recent episode of the MMArcade podcast, Whittaker didn’t hold back on Holland after the middleweight’s latest defeat.
“Dude he’s so average,” Whittaker began. “What do you want me to say? He just time and time again keeps doing the same thing, and the same thing keeps happening. The same thing! Good on those guys, I don’t know.”
Whittaker and Holland don’t have a notable history to explain the former middleweight champion’s blunt assessment. But it’s clear that he doesn’t think highly of Holland and believes he’s overrated in terms of his skillset.
Whittaker’s comments do hold some merit after Holland’s recent losing skid. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt has repeatedly refused to substantially use his grappling throughout his UFC career, most notably in his UFC Orlando headliner against Stephen Thompson in Dec. 2022.
Usually stoic Robert Whittaker goes off on Kevin Holland after UFC 311
After tying the UFC record for most wins in a calendar year in 2020 (5), Holland has struggled to replicate his earlier success inside the Octagon. Before his loss to De Ridder at UFC 311, he suffered a corner stoppage loss to Roman Dolidze at UFC 307 after tapping Michal Oleksiejczuk last June.
Whittaker is also looking to get back in the win column after a submission loss to the unbeaten Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308. Before the defeat, he finished Ikram Aliskerov at UFC Saudi Arabia to get back into the middleweight title mix.
Holland and Whittaker may never come face-to-face inside the cage during their careers, but it’s clear that the former UFC champion doesn’t see Holland as much of a threat. While Holland hasn’t responded to Whittaker as of this writing, it could be a matter of time.
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