Kevin Holland may already have his next fight lined up.
Holland (21-5 MMA, 8-2 UFC), who capped off his perfect 2020 with a brutal knockout of Jacare Souza this past Saturday at UFC 256, has called out Derek Brunson.
Speaking to ESPN, Holland explained why he wants Brunson next and claimed the two have history. When Brunson was getting ready to face current UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in 2018, he asked Holland for his help, but Holland declined.
That led to a few back-and-forth private messages on social media and ever since then, Holland has wanted to fight him.
“We’ve had a few little talks,” Holland said. “We were supposed to be on the same card when he fought Edmen Shahbazyan. I was supposed to be fighting Trevin Giles. That fight fell apart. I was low-key hoping his fight fell apart so I could fight him that night. (It) didn’t work out. I was watching him warm up in the back room. He just looks weird when he warms up.
“He just strikes so funny to me. I want to beat him up because I don’t like the way he strikes. He just looks awkward. It’s like a disrespect to striking. It’s sad that he’s knocked out strikers before with that weird striking.”
Holland, who also called out Khamzat Chimaev after stopping Souza, took to Twitter to blast the “wannabe gangster” for not responding. Whether or not he was the target of that tweet, Brunson (21-7 MMA, 12-5 UFC) was happy to oblige to his callout.
“Ha ha I accept . Don’t run now mfer! See you soon
“
Ha ha I accept .
Don’t run now mfer!
See you soon
https://t.co/pV0LR3Hfi5
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) December 17, 2020
Brunson then made sure to directly address Holland’s callout in another Tweet.
“Oh yeah … send me the contract!
Oh yeah … send me the contract!
pic.twitter.com/mDQ4vw2FJi
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) December 17, 2020
“Guess who ain’t fighting 6 times in 2021 , 60 day suspension otw!
Guess who ain’t fighting 6 times in 2021 , 60 day suspension otw !
@Trailblaze2top https://t.co/Z1P34Eptrg
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) December 17, 2020
Enjoying arguably his best run in years, Brunson has won three in a row. Most recently, he bounced Shahbazyan from the ranks of the unbeaten in August.