The two fighters swung recklessly in the opening minutes of the contest. Then, Oleksiejczuk landed a punishing blow midway through round one, sending Holland to the canvas.
However, once the Russian pounced on his opponent and attempted to finish the fight, Holland expertly reversed the attack by cinching in a devastating armbar from bottom position.
To Oleksiejczuk’s credit, he refused to tap, even as Holland cranked the submission deeper, eventually bending his opponent’s arm thecomplete opposite way.
Whether it was the way Oleksiejczuk’s arm bent or if referee Herb Dean thought he tapped, the fight came to an end with Holland hailed as the victor.
Immediately after Dean called the match, Oleksiejczuk protested the decision, looking at the ref with a confused face. His disgust was visible as Bruce Buffer announced Holland as the winner.
Although the referee’s decision was deemed controversial by the fighter, manyUFCfans watching at home agreed with the stoppage, claiming Dean saved Oleksiejczuk from himself.
After the fight,Holland told reportersthat he heard a “pop” while locking the armbar in.
Regardless of Oleksiejczuk’s objection, the technical submission result is final. It dropped the Russian to 19-8 in his MMA career, with three losses in his past four fights.
Related:
Holland improved to 9-4 as a middleweight in the UFC while owning a 4-4 record in the welterweight division. Perhaps the former top contender has found a home at 185 pounds.
Hunter Haas was a Senior Sports Writer at Dexerto. Over the last two years he has worked as a writer and editor for FanSided at NFLMocks. He also served as an editor at The Raider Ramble and The Blue Stable. Hunter is an expert in all things MMA, WWE, and NFL.
You can email him here: hunter.haas@dexerto.com
