Holland and Medic Fight to a Majority Draw at UFC 334
Kevin Holland and Uros Medic fought to a majority draw at UFC 334. Holland came close to choking Medic out twice, Medic lost a point for low blows, and the judges still could not separate them.
The scorecards
The official result was a majority draw, with cards of 29-27, 28-28 and 28-28. One judge had it 29-27, though the report does not say for whom. In a three-round fight, one round can swing the card, and a deduction takes a point away from the fighter who commits the foul.
Holland at range
Holland's plan was length. He had a 10-inch reach advantage and kept using it. Oblique kicks went at Medic's lead knee, with outside leg kicks, push kicks and high kicks through the center to keep him guessing. In round one a leg kick swept Medic off his feet. In round two Medic was visibly pulling that leg back whenever Holland threatened another kick.
Holland also kept talking to Medic mid-fight, at least in the first two rounds. Medic fired back a few words of his own.
The chokes that did not finish
Round one turned on a knockdown. Holland dropped Medic and hit him with uppercuts. Medic got up, Holland dragged him back down and locked in a ninja choke. Medic refused to go out and Holland had to release it. Holland attacked the same submission again, and Medic escaped a second time and got to his feet.
Medic had offense of his own. He landed a left hand after slipping a kick in round one and a straight right in round two. In round two he also landed punches on Holland during a ground scramble.
Two low kicks, one point
Medic threw a body kick in round two that landed below the belt, and referee Marc Goddard called timeout. A second one followed, and this time Holland needed much longer to recover. Goddard took a point from Medic, which meant he needed a finish. Holland was quieter after the restart. He finished the round pinning Medic against the fence with shoulder strikes.
A knee, then a retreat
Medic came out for round three with more urgency. Holland kept using his reach, grabbed him once for a trip attempt and settled for pushing him into the fence. Then Medic landed a big knee to the head that rocked Holland, and he rushed in to finish.
He did not follow through. Medic backed off, which gave Holland time to recover, and he pushed again only in the last five seconds. The report calls the decision head-scratching given the earlier deduction, and says the hesitation could have cost him the win.
Source: Cageside Press