Kevin Holland is always someone that the UFC can rely on when they need a fighter to step up on short notice.
The promotion’s upcoming card on July 13 in Denver has gone through some significant changes this past week, with multiple high-profile fights falling off the event.
Holland has been trying to get an opponent in order to make the quick turnaround following his first-round finish over Michal Oleksiejczuk at the start of June.
One name that has been linked with his over the past week is Sharabutdin “Bullet” Magomedov, who maintained his undefeated winning streak in Saudi Arabia this past weekend.
After Magomedov called Holland out, all the signs on social media pointed to the fight being a possibility.
Kevin Holland Says He’s Happy To Fight As Long As It’s In The United States
During a recent interview with Helen Yee, Holland gave an update on his plans hopeful plans to fight on July 13 and the potential of him facing off with Shara “Bullet”.
Dana White stated during the post-fight press conference following the event in Saudi Arabia that they will likely keep the middleweight contender in the Middle East for the foreseeable future.
Though he was believed to have restrictions regarding where he is eligible to fight, Magomedov’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, recently stated that this is not an issue.
Shara Bullet is here at the UFC Hall of Fame.
I'm told by his manager @AliAbdelaziz00 that there is nothing preventing Shara from competing in the United States and that he had a great meeting with Dana White this week. pic.twitter.com/kz45qc0Ok8
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) June 28, 2024
Holland himself was surprised when he was told that “Bullet” had called him out while being in attendance at UFC 303 fight week in Las Vegas.
“He’s out in Vegas? Oh well we can just fight July 13, I don’t understand what’s going on here.”
The fan favorite then said that his only request when taking a fight is that he remains in the United States, going as far as to say that in an interview with The Schmo that if his opponent can’t fight in American due to his eye, they could maybe do it in Mexico.
Holland said that as long as an opponent is happy to meet him on US soil, he’s happy to throw down whether it’s “Bullet” or someone else.
“Yeah I mean he said July 13 and the boss liked it so I thought we were going to be fighting July 13 but then they told me no fight July 13, so I think that makes good sense. I mean it’s like if somebody wants to fight me here in the USA, I’ll fight anybody in the USA.
“When it comes to all that flying real far and stuff like that, your boy Kev is just, I ain’t gonna lie, it just doesn’t really work out. I’m not trying to tell anybody what I’m going to do it just doesn’t work out. Mentally, spiritually, I’m just not with the long fights.”
