LAS VEGAS, NV – JULY 19: (L-R) Opponents Kurt Hollobaugh of Brazil and Keinan Kruszewski of Brazil face off during the UFC Fight Night weigh-ins at UFC APEX on July 19, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Kurt Hollobaugh is the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 31: McGregor vs. Chandler, but he was in an interesting position entering Saturday’s bout at UFC Vegas 94. Hollobaugh, who won by second-round submission over Austin Hubbard at TUF 31, had lost his other five bouts with the promotion. Hollobaugh’s most recent bout was a unanimous decision loss to Trey Ogden in March.
Keynan Kruszewski found his way to the UFC with a first-round submission win on last year’s Contender Series. Kruszewski made his promotional debut last November, getting knocked out in the first round by Elf Varner.
The fight started at a breakneck pace. Kurt struck first, throwing jabs, Kanan countering. They ended up in a clinch against the cage, still trading strikes. Hollobaugh controlled the clinch, forcing his opponent against the cage and landing some heavy knees. Kanan attempted a guillotine, which he landed as soon as they were back in space. Hollobaugh landed some thuds to the leg and some big punches out of the clinch. Hollobaugh tried another takedown, and Kruszewski went for the guillotine again. As they separated, Hollobaugh looked for an opportunity to land a jab-cross combo. Kanan went over the top with a punch, then landed a low one to the body. Hollobaugh gained momentum with a four- or five-punch combo that pushed Kruszewski back for a moment. They went into the clinch again with a minute left. Hollobaugh went for a single again, but again exposed himself to a recoil guillotine. In the final seconds of the round, the two traded blows on the stand, with both still looking healthy.
At the start of the second round, Kanan landed a nice long right punch. Holobau fought back, got countered by Kanan, but kept moving forward. The two fighters went back into the clinch again, and Holobau went into a deep guillotine again. Kanan fully committed, laying on his back, and Holobau stuck his head out to do damage on the ground. In the middle of the round, Kanan was able to get back on his feet again. Holobau kept pressuring Kanan, landing a flurry of punches, mostly to the body. Kruszewski fought back, landing punches to the body, head, and landing a knee. With a minute left in the round, both fighters were going for the body. Kruszewski hurt his body, and Holobau climbed higher and higher to land some big punches. Kanan looked stunned and started to back away, and Kurt went for a takedown. Kruszewski grabbed his head again, but Kurt finished the round with some ground-and-pound.
At the start of the final round, Kanan got into the clinch and landed a few powerful knees to the body. Kurt quickly countered with punches to the body, his hand speed seemed to be a little faster than his opponent. Kruszewski got the decisive takedown by knocking Holobau down. He landed a powerful elbow out of Holobau’s guard. After a scramble, Kurt was able to get to his feet. A few seconds later, in the middle of the round, Kanan scored another takedown, this time in the center of the Octagon. Kanan landed some great ground-and-pound, but eventually lost position, allowing Kurt to get on top. Holobau didn’t land many ground-and-pounds with that positioning. But with 30 seconds left in the bout, Holobau was able to get to his opponent’s back and threaten a rear-naked choke.
Official result: Kurt Hollobaugh defeats Keynan Kruszewski via unanimous decision, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28
