MORRISTOWN, N.J. – Kevin Holland got an instant response when he said he was happy to see Belal Muhammad lose the UFC welterweight title.
Muhammad (24-4 MMA, 15-4 UFC) lost his belt to Jack Della Maddalena by unanimous decision at UFC 315. The pair predominantly stood for the five rounds, which earned them the Fight of the Night bonus.
Despite the entertaining battle Muhammad put on against Della Maddalena, Holland (27-13 MMA, 14-10 UFC) decided to take a jab at the former champion when asked about the fight.
“Du Plessis is a better champ to watch than Belal, so it was pretty cool to see Belal lose the belt,” Holland told MMA Junkie and other reporters during Wednesday’s media day. “I thought Belal was going to lose the belt, regardless. I said a long time ago when Islam (Makhachev) was teaching him to hold the belt, if it was someone to take the belt from him, it would be Islam.
“I thought Islam was going to come up, regardless, and take it. Belal’s best win to me was Sean Brady. I was shocked that he ever beat Brady, but I’ve never thought the world of Belal. He’s a hard worker. He puts in the work. But camps boil down to who’s going to put in the most work, and as long as you outwork Belal during the camp, you can damn sure outwork him in the fight. That’s all he really has is work ethic.”
Muhammad fired back at Holland.
“It’s always the ones that’ll never touch gold that have the most to say. Doesn’t this bum lose every other fight he’s in.”
Holland took to Instagram to ask, “If you haven’t defended the belt, did you really get a f*cking belt?”
The pair continued to trade barbs, as Muhammad criticized Holland’s record, and Holland mocked Muhammad’s striking in his loss to Della Maddalena.
Holland will remain at welterweight when he takes on Vicente Luque (23-10-1 MMA, 16-6 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 316 main card opener (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
