Getty Kevin Holland
UFC fan-favorite combatant Kevin Holland appears all-in on fighting Nate Diaz this summer.
On June 20, Diaz once again took to Twitter to publicly asked the UFC for a fight this summer. For months, Diaz has been campaigning for a contest but fans haven’t seen him inside the Octagon since his battle with Leon Edwards at UFC 263 in June 2021.
Diaz tweeted that he wants the promotion to serve him up an opponent for July or August, and if they don’t, he’s looking to be released from the promotion. The popular UFC veteran only has one fight left on his contract, and he plans to fight it out and test free agency. And according to Monday’s tweet, he could be eyeing a boxing match with Jake Paul.
“Ufc release now please or give me fight with anyone in July or august,” Diaz tweeted. “I have bigger s*** to do.” Diaz also shared a clip of Paul knocking out former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. See the embedded tweet below:
Ufc release now please or give me fight with anyone in July or august
I have bigger shit to do
Enter “Trailblazer.”
Holland, who is fresh off a D’Arce choke-finish against Tim Means last weekend, shared his interest in rising to Diaz’s challenge.
“Anyone?” Holland wrote in response. “Ok I’ll be anyone just for you lil Nate!” Holland also changed his Twitter profile name to “I’m ‘Anyone’ for Diaz.”
A welterweight scrap between Holland and Diaz would undoubtedly get fans excited. They’re both fighters who like to stand and trade, and they keep the entertainment going with their in-cage trash talking. Trailblazer returned to 170 pounds earlier this year, and he’s 2-0 since leaving middleweight.
At the time of this writing, Diaz, whose been at welterweight since 2016, hasn’t responded to Holland’s tweet.
Holland Called Out Sean Brady After Dispatching of Means
Once the dust settled and Holland was speaking with Daniel Cormier for his post-fight interview on Saturday in Austin, Trailblazer called out No. 9-ranked welterweight Sean Brady.
But, during the UFC on ESPN 37 post-fight press conference, Holland confirmed he’ll take on anyone, or anything, the UFC puts in front of him.
“I really don’t care,” Holland said via MMA Junkie. “Sean Brady called my name. So if they want me to fight Sean Brady, I’ll take Sean Brady. It’s whatever the UFC wants. If they want me to fight a f****** whale, I’ll fight a whale. If they want me to fight a pig, I’ll fight a pig. They want me to fight my own chicken, I’ll go down there and fight my own chicken. It’s whatever you guys want.”
Holland Channeled His Inner Captain America During His Fight With Means
If Means is known for one thing, it’s his resilience. So, Holland dealt with the UFC veteran by channeling his inner Captain America.
“I hit him with a good shot and I’m like, ‘Damn, you’re freaking tough,’” Holland said. “And he was like, ‘Yeah, I can do this all night.’ So then I started thinking about the Captain America movie where he was like, ‘I can do this all night.’ So it’s just little things. I went to stomp on the thigh. Usually I would go for the knee. I told him I would avoid the knee and he said he wold do the same. So overall, just good stuff. I got up one time and I was like, ‘Pretty good, huh?’ and he was like, ‘Not bad, kid.’ So just Tim being a freaking OG that he is.”