'I need a warm-up anyways' - Kevin Holland asks his manager to pit him against an unranked UFC fighter

Kevin Holland was one of the UFC's breakout stars of 2020, picking up five wins in a single calendar year. However, 2021 has not been quite so prosperous for the Texas-native.

Kevin Holland has dropped back-to-back losses to Marvin Vettori and Derek Brunson. He has now stated that he will be happy to take on an unranked fighter to start him back on the road to success.

Kevin Holland Calls for a Fight with Krzysztof Jotko

The UFC's middleweight division is stacked from top to bottom with talent. One such fighter that Kevin Holland has his eye on for a potential matchup is Krzysztof Jotko. He stated the following in an interview with Helen Yee -

"Tell my manager to book that Jotko fight so I can whoop him a little worse than Strickland did. Plus I need a warmup anyway."

Kevin Holland calling out his manager and who he wants as his next opponent...Krzysztof Jotko @JotkoMMA Watch full interview with @Trailblaze2top here ——> https://t.co/IHCzqvVdoh pic.twitter.com/9G7BUXnAuQ

— Helen Yee (@HelenYeeSports) May 17, 2021

Jotko is currently coming off a decision loss to Sean Strickland. The fight was relatively competitive, although Strickland was able to dictate the pace of the fight with his high pressure style.

However, Jotko does hold a solid record. Before losing to Strickland, he had amassed a three-fight win streak, defeating Eryk Anders, Marc-Andre Barriault and Alen Amedovski. He also holds wins over Thales Leites and Scott Askham.

Holland not big enough for Luke Rockhold

Yee also suggested that Luke Rockhold, who is set to make a return to MMA after a short hiatus, could also be a potential opponent for Kevin Holland.

However, Holland does not believe he has a big enough name to face a former champion such as Rockhold. He stated that -

"I just don't think my name's big enough right now. You know it's like when I was like whatever number I was before I lost my two last lovemaking sessions, I would've been that candidate. But right now I'm not that candidate. Luke's an OG, he's a vet. He deserves to be fighting top 10 when he comes back. I see people online saying that whatever fight you can get but just hold on. Hold your horses, my man. You'll get a top 10 real soon. I promise you that." Kevin Holland said.

Rockhold is coming off an unsuccessful attempt to move up in weight to fight Jan Blachowicz. The Polish powerhouse, who has since claimed light heavyweight gold, knocked Rockhold out in the second-round. The 36-year-old was also KO'd by Yoel Romero in his fight prior to Blachowicz.