UFC welterweight contender Daniel Rodriguez was accused of cheating by Kevin Holland following their wild war at UFC 318.
While Dustin Poirier‘s retirement was the biggest headline of UFC 318, welterweights Kevin Holland and Daniel Rodriguez treated fans to arguably the best fight of the night.
Holland and Rodriguez put on one of the best fights of the year at UFC 318, in a back-and-forth war from start-to-finish. Both fighters were on the verge of being finished throughout the fight, drawing huge reactions from the New Orleans crowd.
Rodriguez walked away with a decision victory over Holland to squash the latter’s attempt at making UFC history this year.
After their fight, Holland’s first post-fight statement raised eyebrows after he accused Rodriguez of using a banned substance to make it harder to grapple him.
Kevin Holland hinted at Daniel Rodriguez potentially ‘greasing’ at UFC 318
In a recent post to X, Holland hinted at Rodriguez ‘greasing’ in their UFC 318 fight.
“That boy was like a soap bar but good boxing,” Holland said. “Sorry for all the parlays we f***** up.”
In a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Rodriguez responded to Holland’s tweet.
“He said I was slippery and I was hard to grab, but that’s sweat, bro,” Rodriguez said. “I’m assuming [he thought I was greasing], but there weren’t too many grappling exchanges, other than in the 3rd round when he went for the choke, but he didn’t even have it at the right angle. I was able to just turn my body, get my shoulder out, and ended up back on top.
“I think that’s what might be what he’s referring to, but like I said, I was just sweating,” Rodriguez continued. “One thing I did do, though, as kind of a strategy, was I shaved my head. My head was freshly shaved. I knew if he tried to get me in the d’arce, I’d slip my head out real slick.” (h/t
As of this writing, there’s no direct evidence of wrongdoing on Rodriguez’s part at UFC 318. Rodriguez’s victory was his third consecutive win, after recent victories over Santiago Ponzinibbio and Alex Morono.
Meanwhile, Holland’s loss at UFC 318 eliminated the possibility of matching his 2020 UFC record with five victories in a single year.
Dustin Poirier doubled down on retirement during mid-fight moment at UFC 318
Two fights after Rodriguez and Holland’s wild scrap, Poirier lost to Max Holloway in his retirement fight in the main event. Poirier and Holloway completed their trilogy with an instant classic, before Poirier dropped the gloves in the Octagon and doubled down on his retirement.
Poirier admitted that he took a more conservative approach to his UFC 318 fight than any other performance in his career. He admitted to focusing on self-preservation, particularly late in the fight, as Holloway attempted to lure him into a barn-burner in the final seconds.
Poirier’s retirement fight was unique in many facets, including the fact that he got to hang up the gloves in his home state of Louisiana. Few fighters in UFC history have gotten the opportunity to headline a card close to where they grew up for their final appearance in the Octagon.
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