Kevin Holland, win or lose, is going to do things his way, and that includes standing by his usual pre-fight preparation.
Which is to say, he smokes a lot of weed between fights.
In an appearance on the MightyCast, Holland discussed with host Demetrious Johnson what it’s like to be a high-level fighter that is also an avid weed smoker. Though Holland does his best to adhere to the rules of states and commissions, a quick turnaround in 2021 meant that he was deep into his habits ahead of a fight with Marvin Vettori.
“The Marvin Vettori fight, I was high as a kite,” Holland said. “Not during the fight, but all week, I was high as a kite. Five rounds didn’t feel like shit that time. The Derek Brunson fight, I was all worried, I was like, damn bro, I’m not going to smoke that much because I have five rounds, so I don’t want to be f*cking with my lungs. First time doing five rounds in a UFC fight, it could go that long, he wants to wrestle and stuff, so I was like, I’m not going to do that. Then I was like, I stressed myself out for no reason, I still lost the f*cking fight.
“So then after the next one, I was like, I’m just going to smoke. So they gave me Marvin Vettori at the last second, I was partying and everything. I didn’t feel any different. The pace got to be pushed, a lot of times when you’ve got five rounds, they don’t push the pace, I don’t push the pace, we’re just chilling.”
Following a loss to Derek Brunson in the main event of a Fight Night card on March 20, 2021, Holland was called upon to headline another Fight Night event just three weeks later opposite Vettori. Vettori’s original opponent, Darren Till, withdrew due to a collarbone injury.
Holland had just nine days to prepare for the fight, so there was no reason for him to change his routine up to that point and he felt that cutting weed from his training regimen didn’t do him much good against Brunson anyway. He went on to lose by decision to Vettori as well.
Fighters are prohibited from competing under the influence of marijuana on fight night, but Holland wondered how much more effective he might be if he could go into the octagon high.
“I bet you if I was faded, I’d probably figure it out,” Holland said. “I’d hit a little backflip or some shit, I’m trying to tell you, your boy would turn into Batman in there.
“Think about it, I’ve never, ever not been successful in a situation on the streets when somebody’s life was on the line or if it was a dangerous situation because I was always faded. I was always good to go.”
Up next is a crucial matchup for Holland, as he fights Reinier de Ridder at UFC 311 in Los Angeles this Saturday. Holland has lost three of his past four fights.
He had one more piece of advice for Johnson, and that’s to smoke weed before his next round of jiu-jitsu training.
“It’s the best, rolling high is the shit,” Holland said. “[Try it] at least once or twice. After you do it once, though, you’re going to want to do it again.”
