Jorge Masvidal and Kevin Holland aren’t fighting each other this weekend at UFC 287 in Miami, but that didn’t stop the two getting into a heated verbal confrontation when they crossed paths in a hotel lobby yesterday.
Two videos featuring alternate angles of the incident have since emerged showing both fighters shouting at each other while security holds them apart.
At one point Holland appeared to be taunting Masvidal about the fact he’d stated he might retire if he loses to Gilbert Burns on Saturday night. However, it’s not clear what actually sparked off the verbal altercation between the two in the first place.
Meanwhile, Holland’s real opponent on Saturday night, Santiago Ponzinibbio has claimed that ‘Trailblazer’ has been trying to get their fight changed to middleweight after struggling to make the welterweight limit this week.
According to Ponzinibbio, Holland contacted him directly via Instagram to try to get him to agree to the change, but he believes the outspoken fighter is just trying to mess with him mentally ahead of the bout and isn’t interested.
“We signed a contract at 170 pounds, be a professional,” Ponzinibbio told Carlos Contreras Legaspi at yesterday’s UFC 287 media day. “I don’t care what he says now. Maybe if he said something before we signed we could reach an agreement. Now that we have signed, I don’t care what he says. I think he’s playing mind games, but that’s not going to work with me.”
