UFC on ESPN 42: Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson Vs. Kevin “Trailblazer” Holland was entirely epic. From the superb title fight to the amazing power of Sergei Pavlovich. The preliminary rounds also had stellar performances from the likes of Jonathan Pearce, Darren Elkins, Michael Johnson, and Clay Guida. The UFC Orlando audience was fantastic, with a completely sold out Amway Center all the way through the event.
Table Of Contents
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Stephen Thompson Vs. Kevin Holland
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Round 1
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Round 2
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Round 3
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Round 4
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Bryan Barberena Vs. Rafael dos Anjos
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Tai Tuivasa Vs Sergei Pavlovich
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RDX Pick: Niko Price Vs. Philip Rowe
Stephen Thompson Vs Kevin Holland
What a four-round firework show by these two super strikers. Wonderboy Thompson found himself a fourth-round victory and that too at the age of 39 saying he is as much a contender as always. On the other hand Kevin “Big Mouth” Holland took on one of the UFC’s star strikers only to lose because of an injured hand at the end of the fourth round.
Round 1
Kevin Holland was firing on all cylinders in the first round, with both leg kicks and punches. Even coming extremely close to knocking out Wonderboy with a few powerful hits both on the cage side and in the center of the octagon. We got to see Thompson actively re-gauge his opponent in the following corner break.
Round 2
Wonderboy Thompson launched into the following rounds with a speed that was extremely impressive for the 39-year-old fighter. He began shooting head kicks with little to no windup, landing with vicious precision. However, Kevin was tough as nails in the ring, eating multiple big shots and barely slowing down. And as expected of any Kevin Holland fight there was a lot of chatter from both fighters. They showed each other respect and encouragement as the rounds progressed picking each other up to continue the standing war they had signed up for.
Round 3
In Round 3 we got to see another head kick, one of which seemed to do Holland serious damage, slowing the fast-paced striker down considerably. Thompson started landing precision punches on Kevin Holland, closing the distance with surprising pace and dexterity. Kevin Holland has extremely impressive durability in the face of the power Wonderboy is displaying. Meanwhile every time Trailblazer Holland would lunge forward to attack, he would hit air, as Wonderboy would swerve out of the way. In the corner, Holland told his crew how surprised he was by Wonderboy’s movement and speed.
Round 4
With round 4 underway Holland could be seen with an extremely diminished pace in comparison to the light-footed Stephen Thompson. The round starts with Holland politely requesting Stephen to slow down a little. The ref halts the action temporarily with an unintentional low blow by Thompson. The fight resumes with Wonderboy picking apart Holland with his arsenal of kicks. Thompson manages to get on top of a stumbling Holland and lands some very decent ground-and-pound on Kevin. As the bell is called Kevin tells his corner that his hand is injured and they throw in the towel. An extremely impressive performance by Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.
Bryan Barberena Vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Rafael Dos Anjos takes down Bryan “Bam Bam” Barberena with a 2nd round rear naked choke. With this win, R.D.A. passes Frankie Edgar for most time spent in the octagon in UFC history.
“He’s strong as hell,” Raphael dos Anjos said about Barberena. “That guy’s big, it’s my return to welterweight, I’m so happy I got the ‘W.’ I think I’m the guy that has the most hours in the octagon.”
Barberena was explosive at the start of both rounds but unfortunately couldn’t handle the wrestling and submission pressure coming from Dos Anjos.
Tai Tuivasa Vs Sergei Pavlovich
Sergei Pavlovich succeeded in completing a first-round knockout devastation on Tai Tuivasa. The ecstatic Pavlovich secured his victory within 54 seconds of the opening belt.
“I have to tell you that I do a lot of work to get here and a lot of work to get these results,” Pavlovich said. “I hope this time I deserve a bonus. Honestly, we dissected my opponent and all his different disciplines. This was a very important fight for my career.”
Tuivasa barely got a chance to react to the punches as he took three powerful hits in the opening seconds followed by continuous knock-out pressure from his heavyweight opponent.
RDX Pick: Niko Price Vs. Philip Rowe
Niko Price Vs Philip Rowe was a stunning back-and-forth fight with Philip Rowe showcasing his knockout power in the first round but being unable to put pressure on an extremely active Niko Price. As round 3 came along Rowe was down on points by the looks of it and his corner advised him to set alight the inferno within him.
After he was nearly stopped moments earlier, Rowe blasted Price with a straight right hand that wobbled the veteran welterweight and led to a dramatic finish. Once Price was hurt, Rowe just surged forward with a barrage of punches that continued chipping away at Price until referee Marc Goddard just couldn’t let him endure any more punishment. The match was stopped at 3:26 of the third round.
“This is a dream come true,” Rowe said. “Orlando, this is for you guys. These guys got nothing for me in here. If my mom can do what she does, ain’t nobody stopping me in here.”
Heading into the fight, Rowe acknowledged that his mother was battling two different forms of cancer so she wasn’t able to be in the arena to watch him perform but he paid homage to her with his victory.
RDX congratulates all the winners of UFC Orlando: Thompson Vs. Holland on December 3, 2022, at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, United States. Stunning performances were visible all around and with these victories many changes in the rankings as well. All this makes the following UFC 282 that much more exciting.
