Exclusive
TMZSports.com
Get Kevin Holland a new nickname … ’cause “Big Mouth” won’t be running when he fights Saturday night, telling TMZ Sports his sole focus is whooping Marvin Vettori‘s ass.
28-year-old Holland received an onslaught of criticism — from fans to Dana White — for the nonstop crap talk during his unanimous decision loss to Derek Brunson only 19 days ago.
Holland’s stepping up on short notice to fight Vettori — the 27-year old, 6th-ranked UFC middleweight — and we asked if he was gonna press pause on the trash talk.
“Yeah, I mean ultimately, I go in there and get the job done and then we’ll see what happens after that, but it’s like a whole lot of talking that night, I don’t see that happening. Go in there, get the job done and then we can talk about it after.”
It’s an interesting dilemma … MMA fans loved Holland’s brashness when he was winning (he fought and won 5 times in 2020!!) — but turned on him when he talked and lost.
If you’re wondering how @Trailblaze2top earned the nickname “Big Mouth”… 😅 #UFCVegas22 pic.twitter.com/NXg8984t0v
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) March 18, 2021
@espnmma
So, moral of the story for Kevin? Win. This. Fight.
“I just got a job to do. The job is to put Vettori away in a nice fashion.”
As for any bad blood with White … Holland says everything’s cool with the UFC honcho.
“I appreciate Dana for being a real individual that he is, not biting his tongue and saying how he feels. Ya know I respect it. No hard feeling on my behalf ever.”