Nick Diaz vs Kevin Holland is the fight you never thought about, but now know you need.
Holland (21-7) has become a popular figure among UFC fans over the last few years. Since the moment he was dubbed “big mouth” by UFC President Dana White, after his win on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018, he has endeared himself to MMA observers with his entertaining rhetoric in and out of the Octagon. Plus, he’s a pretty damn talented fighter who had a breakout year in 2020, and is currently ranked in the top 15 of the UFC middleweight division.
In the current MMA landscape, callouts and fantasy booking over social media are often used to make key matches happen. “Trailblazer” is certainly not opposed to the strategy and decided to take advantage of it in a unique way Wednesday night with a video post on his Instagram account. The footage is a clip from his DWCS bout, and features the 29-year-old landing a couple of “Stockton-slaps” to opponent Will Santiago, and him mentioning interest in a fight with Diaz (26-10).
Holland captioned the post by writing, “Smack man smack man yeah that’s me!!! Let’s Go BUCKO. #illdoit.”
Is a Nick Diaz vs Kevin Holland fight a possibility next year?
The post was certainly not the usual trash-talked-filled callout fans have become accustomed to. Instead, Holland went with a subtle approach, and it certainly drew the interest of the over 32,000 followers who liked the post and from news outlet MMAJunkie. After the posting, the site was able to obtain a comment from Holland regarding his veiled callout of the former Strikeforce welterweight champion.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXOmP13J-dL
I been waiting to slap the slap man since I was on Contender Series, Holland said in a text. We had a little run-in. I think it’s a fight the fans will want the commentators to just shut up and listen to the punches landing and our mouths flapping.
Although Holland has built his UFC resume off of being a skilled middleweight fighter, he recently made it known that after going winless over three fights in 2021, he plans to move down to welterweight. Making a fight between Holland and Diaz all the more plausible. Of course, a clash at middleweight wouldn’t be out of the question. Since the Californian competed at 185-pounds for his recent Octagon return in September and previously fought there six years ago in a main event matchup with former champion Anderson Silva.
However, since he is winless as a middleweight, the best chance of seeing a vintage Diaz performance at 38-years-old would be by competing at welterweight, the weight class he became an MMA superstar in.
If a fight were to happen between the two it would easily be one of the most anticipated fights of 2022. Despite the wide gap in age, Holland and Diaz are similar as fighters that prefer to stand and trade but are also very active trash talkers during their bouts. It would certainly be a sight to behold.
Diaz ended a six-year hiatus from the sport in the fall at UFC 266. On that night, he was defeated by former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler by third-round technical knockout after choosing to end the bout early in the round. He is on a three-fight losing streak and has not won a bout since 2011.
Is a Diaz vs Holland scrap one you are hoping for next year?
