"I don't know if he likes me enough to pull strings" - Kevin Holland on whether Dana White will help pave the way for a title shot against Israel Adesanya

Although Kevin Holland is currently competing in the welterweight division, he has his sights set on moving back up to the middleweight division in the future.

After a winless run of three fights at 185 pounds, 'Trailblazer' got back to winning ways on his return to welterweight against Alex Oliveira back in March at UFC 272.

Despite not having a great run in the middleweight division recently, Holland believes he can still make his way to earning a title shot. All he needs to do is string together a few impressive performances and win a potential rematch against either of the two wrestling-heavy fighters who dominated him previously - Derek Brunson and Marvin Vettori.

Holland knows that Dana White is fond of him but doesn't think that the UFC president likes him enough to propel him to a title shot against Israel Adesanya in the near future. During UFC Austin media day, Holland stated:

"I mean it makes sense [to fight strikers], or even go back up win a fight at '85, win two fights '85 and get a Brunson or a Vettori rematch, because I think after this year of wrestling, I'm a lot better at wrestling... But it's not up to me, you know, I mean, my job is just to simply show up whenever they tell me I gotta fight...Yeah, he [Dana White] likes me but I don't know if he likes me enough for me to pull strings."

Watch the interview below:

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Kevin Holland and Joaquin Buckley reignite rivalry ahead of respective fights at UFC Austin

Kevin Holland and former opponent Joaquin Buckley have been sharing heated verbal exchanges lately and the pair are soon going to compete on the same card, but not against each other.

Holland will take on Tim Means in a welterweight scrap at UFC Austin this weekend, while Buckley is scheduled to fight Albert Duraev in a middleweight clash.

In an interaction with Sportskeeda MMA, Buckley put Holland on blast for apparently pretending to be a hero. He said:

"He’s one of the fakest people in the game. That guy is a fake a** bitch. He’s got everyone looking the other way with all this Batman bullsh*t. Running around pretending he’s something else, but I know who he really is."

Kevin Holland responded to Buckley this week, reminding him of his knockout loss in their 2020 clash.

It will be interesting to see if these two fighters cross paths again down the line. For now, they must focus on winning their respective fights in Texas.