Kevin Holland apologized to Donald Trump for what he perceived to be a previous snub after his first-round submission win over Michal Oleksiejczuk at UFC 302.
Holland survived a knockdown from Oleksiejczuk to secure an armbar, which appeared to injure the Pole’s arm and forced referee Herb Dean to step in at the 1:34 mark of the opening frame. “Trailblazer” immediately jumped over the Octagon and spoke to Trump, who was in attendance for the event at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Holland later revealed that he actually apologized to Trump for not greeting him in a previous instance. Holland noted that his first instinct is to always speak to UFC executives seated cageside.
“I just apologized because the first time that I hopped out of the cage when he was there, I didn’t speak to him,” Holland said during a post-fight media scrum. “And no disrespect to anybody ever, the person who signs my checks is usually the first person I’m trying to talk to. You know what I mean, Dana [White], Hunter [Campbell] they sign my checks.”
Holland was referring to UFC 287 in April 2023, when Israel Adesanya avenged his three losses against Alex Pereira with a knockout win in the headliner. Trump, who is known to frequent major UFC pay-per-views, was in attendance for the event at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. Holland put on a striking clinic en route a third-round KO win over Santiago Ponzinibbio on the same card. While Holland jumped over the Octagon then as well, he only spoke to White, with Trump sitting beside the UFC CEO.