Israel Adesanya reacts to the crazy fight between Stephen Thompson and Kevin Holland

Israel Adesanya has reacted to the recent thriller between Stephen Thompson and Kevin Holland.

'Wonderboy' faced Holland in a welterweight bout that headlined the UFC Fight Night event on Saturday, December 3. Both striking savants managed to hurt one another in a festival of violence.

Nevertheless, it was kickboxing veteran Thompson who took control down the stretch after Holland seemingly hurt his right hand from blocking 'Wonderboy's powerful kicks. Before the final round began, 'Trailblazer's corner threw in the towel, and Thompson thereby won the matchup via fourth-round TKO.

In a video posted to his FREESTYLEBENDER YouTube channel, Israel Adesanya and his brother David expressed their excitement while watching the back-and-forth battle between Thompson and Holland.

Reusing the nickname he'd bestowed upon Holland last year, 'Izzy' referred to him as a "crackhead." Also, alluding to Holland's ability to absorb Thompson's thunderous punches and spinning kicks and stay lucid, Adesanya stated:

"My God! You can't drop a crackhead. You can never drop a crackhead. How are you gonna drop a crackhead? Yeah, his [Holland's] hand, whatever -- Oh!"

Further addressing the corner stoppage, Adesanya said:

"Good job. Good job on them [Holland's corner]. Let him fight another day for good sh**. What is his arm, something -- He's just standing there and taking punishment, so he would've just done the same thing again... Credit to both warriors. I'm just watching the highlights right now. F**k. That's sick, man. My man [Thompson] was spinning like a ballerina. Beautiful. Congrats, 'Wonderboy'. Head up, Kevin."

Watch Adesanya discuss the topic at 9:09 in the video below:

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When Kevin Holland praised Israel Adesanya ahead of his trilogy against Alex Pereira

Israel Adesanya lost to archnemesis Alex Pereira twice in the sport of kickboxing. He also faced Pereira in a trilogy matchup in an MMA bout at UFC 281 last month. The fight saw 'Poatan' beat Adesanya via fifth-round TKO to capture the UFC middleweight title.

It's believed that the Adesanya-Pereira middleweight title rematch could materialize in early 2023.

While many view Alex Pereira as Israel Adesanya's kryptonite, Kevin Holland had offered a different take heading into UFC 281. 'Trailblazer' challenged the belief that grappling-heavy middleweight elites like Robert Whittaker and Marvin Vettori have a better chance at beating Pereira, even more so than Adesanya.

However, Holland believed Adesanya could defeat all of them, including Pereira. Speaking to Sportskeeda MMA, 'Trailblazer' explained:

"Izzy has the recipe, he has the calmness, he has all the things that it takes to just stand across from those guys, outpointing them. I mean, like, he's beating them in an MMA fight."

Watch Holland's assessment below: