It was a brutal week for American democracy and a brutal night for Michal Oleksiejczuk. These two things, rather improbably, intersected at UFC 302 on Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
UFC fighter Kevin Holland, returning to the octagon's middleweight division for the first time since 2021, handed Poland's Oleksiejczuk a savage first-round defeat at the mixed martial arts event. And, after his win, outside the cage, he visited with none other than UFC fan and a man who's been in the arena for quite some time now, former President Donald Trump.
According to USA Today, Holland, 26-11 MMA and 13-8 UFC, "overcame an early scare, but ultimately finished Oleksiejczuk ... at 1:34 in Round 1" of the bout.
Holland got knocked down by a sharp left from Oleksiejczuk, whose record stands at 19-8 MMA and 7-6 UFC.
However, relying on his ground game, Holland managed to get Oleksiejczuk into an armbar from which the Polish fighter didn't escape.
While Oleksiejczuk initially resisted tapping, Holland tightened his grasp on the Polish fighter's arm -- which appeared to crack under the strain, prompting ref Herb Dean to call the match.
And, immediately after the win, Holland leaped from the octagon and went ringside to shake hands with the most famous man in the world at the moment:
WARNING: The following video contains graphic footage that some viewers will find offensive.
Just a Normal Kevin Holland Fight #UFC302 pic.twitter.com/FwqflBekwY
— Kevin (@realkevink) June 2, 2024
Kevin Holland just got knocked down and immediately snapped homies arm and went to celebrate with Donald Trump 😂 #UFC302 pic.twitter.com/YlPABBVVIm
— Mixed Martial Aus 🇦🇺 (@MixedMartialAus) June 2, 2024
As the commentators noted, that arm certainly looked like it broke. As of early Sunday morning, there was no word on Oleksiejczuk's condition.
KEVIN HOLLAND WITH THE ARMBAR IN ROUND 1 🔒 #UFC302 pic.twitter.com/sZpB0iM5vx
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 2, 2024
Kevin Holland gets the W and immediately shakes hands with President Trump 🤝 pic.twitter.com/iHjhRMPsEb
— Karoline Leavitt (@kleavittnh) June 2, 2024
And there was Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, in his usual place of honor at UFC matches. As Fox News reported, it was one of the first appearances by Trump since a Manhattan jury found him guilty on all counts Thursday in the Democratic form of lawfare known as the "porn star hush money" case.
As Trump said in the aftermath of Thursday's jury's decision, it was "a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt" and "the real verdict is going to be November 5th by the people." If the reception at UFC 302 was any indication, Trump's supporters are definitely in his corner.
The U.K. Daily Mail reported that "[c]hants of 'we want Trump' and 'f**k Joe Biden' were heard throughout the crowd" during the event.
Keep in mind that while the UFC audience skews Trump's way, Newark, New Jersey also isn't known as a hotbed of MAGA sentiment. The fact that there was such an overwhelming response to his appearance, therefore, should tell you a good deal about just how seriously the some segments of the body politic view last week's verdict.
