Kevin Holland has fired back after middleweight contender Sean Strickland detailed an altercation they had at the UFC Performance Institute earlier this month.
If there’s one man who doesn’t struggle to ruffle feathers and form feuds outside the Octagon, it’s Strickland. If there’s a second, it’s Holland. With that in mind and with both men’s vocal presence on social media, an exchange and rivalry were always likely.
In an interview ahead of Strickland’s latest outing, a five-round victory over Jack Hermansson at UFC Vegas 47, “Trailblazer” made his negative feelings about “Tarzan” common knowledge. That led to an interaction at the PI during fight week.
According to the #6-ranked middleweight, Holland confronted him with a “popped out” chest and was looking for a fight but shied away after Strickland invited him to the parking lot for a “man dance.”
While speaking to the media at UFC 271 this past weekend, Holland gave his side of the story. Explaining his reluctance to scrap Strickland in the parking lot, “Big Mouth” suggested they could have made the most of the PI’s facilities for an animosity-fueled sparring session.
“I seen him at the PI, and he had said some stuff online about murdering me or something like that if we ever have a fight,” recounted Holland. “So, when I see him, I was just checking his energy. He said I had my chest poked out, but as you guys see me on camera all the time, I have a bird chest. It’s kind of hard to poke this thing out. So, (I) walked up to the man, and I wasn’t trying to say nothing to him. He was speaking to me like we were friends or something. I was just looking at him like he was fucking crazy.
“He said something stupid, so I probably said something stupid back,” added Holland. “Little words got exchanged. He said something about going to the parking lot. But if I’m not mistaken, there’s a full-blown Octagon and a boxing ring upstairs, and we could easily make it a sparring session. That way the UFC doesn’t lose money by somebody getting their head bashed in in the parking lot.”
While Holland no doubt thinks he can match Strickland’s in-fight trash talk and go toe-to-toe with him on the mic, there’s one area he says he boasts a size advantage…
“I think I got the bigger cock.”
Holland Ready To Offer Strickland A Rebound Opportunity
While their back and forth and in-person exchange would have set the stage nicely for a grudge match inside the cage, the pair are currently at very different points on the UFC ladder.
On a six-fight win streak and coming off his second consecutive main event triumph, Strickland has risen into title contention and is perhaps just one victory away from a date with champion Israel Adesanya.
Holland, meanwhile, is winless in his last three and set to move down to welterweight to face “Cowboy” Alex Oliveira at UFC 272 next month.
But despite their opposite paths in the promotion right now, Holland is harboring hope of a clash down the line. He even offered to be waiting with a rebound opportunity for Strickland if the Anaheim native earns a title shot and is beaten by “The Last Stylebender.”
“Yeah, I would love to do that fight,” Holland further told the media. “Sean’s on a really good winning streak right now, and Sean’s making really good waves in the middleweight division. I’m no dummy, we all know Sean’s probably close to a title shot. There’s not very many people for Izzy to fight at 185. Once Izzy knocks him the fuck out and he needs a rebound fight, here I am baby. Another tall, lanky guy ready to take that ass.”
If Holland can resurrect his career at 170 pounds and return to middleweight in the future, it certainly wouldn’t be surprising to see him throw down with Strickland.
Would you like to see Kevin Holland and Sean Strickland settle their differences inside the Octagon down the line?
