Daniel Rodriguez nearly put Kevin Holland away twice in the second round but then had to survive a late comeback to secure a decision win in a crazy back-and-forth war at UFC 318.
Looking better than ever to start the fight, Rodriguez blasted Holland with some nasty combinations in the second round that put the always active welterweight on the ground on two different occasions. Somehow, Holland kept finding a way to survive and he nearly made Rodriguez pay after he put the Los Angeles native down in the final round.
This time it was Rodriguez’s turn to scratch and claw his way back before ending the fight on top of Holland throwing punches as time finally expired. In the end, the judges all agreed with 29-28 scorecards across the board as Rodriguez gets an impressive win.
“That fight was close,” Rodriguez said after having his hand raised. “Took the fight on short notice, thank you UFC for the opportunity. I did that, let’s go! You can never count me out. You’ve got to put me out to take me out. That third round, I earned that.”
Rodriguez came out aggressive right away, pressing forward and throwing a barrage of punches with Holland looking to weather the storm. Holland avoided taking any serious damage as he fired back at Rodriguez with long punches and then firing off a couple of kicks as well.
Holland’s accuracy was paying off as time passed but he still had to be wary of the power coming back at him from Rodriguez. Like clockwork that’s when Rodriguez connected with a stiff shot that backed Holland up to the cage but he was quick to smile back at his opponent to show he was still OK.
As the second round got started, Rodriguez unloaded a huge punch that immediately rattled Holland as he ended up on his back defending and trying to avoid further punishment. Rodriguez eventually let Holland up to his feet and he cracked him with another stinging shot.
Holland stumbled to the ground again with Rodriguez pouncing on him immediately but still unable to get the finish. With the fight moving in the wrong direction, Holland finally countered with a takedown and tried to snatch a D’arce choke but Rodriguez was able to shrug him off.
Back on the feet, Rodriguez hammered Holland with another staggering punch even as it seemed like his gas tank was running on low.
While he wasn’t as fast as Holland on the feet, Rodriguez found an innate ability to launch a huge left hand that just always seemed to find a home on the chin. Despite all the punishment he absorbed, Holland just kept coming and he ended up dropping Rodriguez to the canvas.
Smelling blood in the water, Holland went for the kill and he really started unloading shots trying for the finish. Rodriguez kept finding a way to survive and after a while scramble he actually ended up on top of Holland in the mount.
Understandably exhausted, Rodriguez dropped a few more punches before the final horn sounded to end the three-round war. It was a battle of attrition but a well-earned victory for Rodriguez, who has now earned three wins in a row in a very deep welterweight division.
As for Holland, he comes up short and falls to 2-2 in 2025 after declaring plans to fight at least seven times this year.
