TJ Dillashaw insists UFC 311 loser will never be champion: 'I promise you that'
01/23/2025 07:42 AM
TJ Dillashaw was one of the many fans who tuned into Dana White’s first pay-per-view event of the yearlast weekend.
On Saturday night, the former two-time UFC bantamweight champion watched on as Islam Makhachev submitted Renato Moicano inside one round to defend his lightweight title in the UFC 311 main event.
In the co-headliner, Umar Nurmagomedov lost against Merab Dvalishvili, who used his elite-level cardio to mount a come-from-behind victory during their pulsating five-round bantamweight title bout.
However, it was a fighter on the UFC 311 undercard that got the biggest reaction from TJ Dillashaw.
- READ MORE: Rampage Jackson praised by legends for handling of outlandish Kevin Holland feud before UFC 311
TJ Dillashaw says Kevin Holland will never be champion
Kevin Holland went viral for his weird interview with MMA legend Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson in the days leading up to his UFC 311 fight with Reinier de Ridder, who tapped him out inside one round at California’s Intuit Dome.
Dillashaw was unimpressed with his attitude on the JAXXON podcast and his performance inside the Octagon.
The 38-year-old has seen enough to confidently predict Holland will never become a UFC champion.
“The post you guys put out there about him not caring about being a UFC champion, 'There's too much politics in it'," Dillashaw said. “Alright, dude, that's just an excuse because you'll never be a champion.
“He's a very entertaining fighter, he talks a lot, but he will never be a champion. I promise you that.
“It's the truth, he's got some holes in his game, and we see it here. Are you going to be a champion if you don't care? No, you need to obsess about it every day of your life. You need to be OCD about training, about being the best and not losing one practice.
“He's talking about bringing training partners in and going home and smoking. Just sitting here and listening to him talk and watching him on TV, he doesn't have the mindset for it, he's just happy to be on TV.”
Kevin Holland breaks silence following UFC 311 loss
Holland has suffered back-to-back first-round stoppage losses and dropped to 1-4 in his past five fights.
Right now, the American seems more likely to get cut by the UFC than mount a serious title run.
On Wednesday, he took to X – formerly known as Twitter – to address his worrying drop in form.
“Been pretty trash lately… gotta clean [s***] up,” Holland tweeted.
The 32-year-old will want to get back to the form that made him one of the UFC’s must-watch fighters.
In 2020, he won five consecutive bouts to become a genuine contender for Fighter of the Year.
Since then, Holland’s career has fallen apart as he’s suffered eight defeats in his last 13 Octagon outings.
It remains to be seen if he will be able to get things back on track as the year progresses.
