"Wild night for UFC refs," "They did Holland dirty here" - Fans stunned as Mike Malott outworks Kevin Holland for unanimous decision win

Kevin Holland made a quick return for his fifth fight in 2025 at UFC Vancouver, where he faced Mike Malott, capturing the attention of the MMA world.

The welterweight fighters clashed in the co-main event, with Holland starting as the aggressor. However, after a few strikes landed by Malott, he unintentionally delivered a low blow to Holland, causing a stoppage in the action while Holland took the full five minutes to recover.

Once the fight resumed, Malott appeared more effective, landing precise strikes as they continued. After three rounds, the judges declared Malott the winner by unanimous decision, with all scorecards reading 29-28 in his favor.

Check out the result of the Kevin Holland vs. Mike Malott fight below:

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Several fight fans and netizens went to the comments section of @ChampRDS' post on X to share their reactions, with one user calling out the UFC referees:

"Should have taken a point, wild night for UFC refs. Inconsistent"

Another user wrote:

"They did Holland dirty here. Fight should have been stopped. Second mistake this ref made"

Others commented:

"Good but awkward fight!" "Kevin dropped him before the low blows. Mike is a dingus and Dan is a bigger dingus" "Malott isn’t top 15 he would’ve lost if Kevin was 100%"

Check out more fan reactions below:

Fans' reaction to Kevin Holland vs. Mike Malott fight. [Screenshots courtesy: @ChampRDS on X]

Many netizens expressed their frustration over a controversial incident in which they believed referee Dan Miragliotta should have deducted a point from Mike Malott for the second low blow.

However, with the victory, Malott extended his winning streak to three fights and brought his record to 7-1 in the UFC. His only loss in the promotion occurred against Neil Magny at UFC 297 in 2024.

Meanwhile, Holland experienced his third defeat in 2025 at UFC Vancouver. Prior to losing to Malott, he had already been defeated by Daniel Rodriguez and Reinier de Ridder.

Edited by Nilaav Gogoi