Kevin Holland calls out Nick Diaz for 2022 fight: 'I been wanting to slap the slap man'

Kevin Holland wants to go slap-for-slap with one of mixed martial arts’ most prolific open-hand strikers.

Following an Instagram post Wednesday that featured a split image Nick Diaz next to him, Holland (21-8 MMA, 8-5 UFC) confirmed to MMA Junkie he hopes that matchup is his next.

“I been waiting to slap the slap man since I was on (Dana White’s) Contender Series,” Holland said, in a text. “We had a little run in. I think it’s a fight the fans will want the commentators to just shut up and listen to the punches landing and our mouths flapping.”

Holland did not elaborate further or give more details on the mentioned run-in he had with Diaz (26-10 MMA, 13-7 UFC), but his manager Oren Hodak, of KO Reps, told MMA Junkie his fighter would be willing to compete at either welterweight or middleweight.

Neither Holland nor Diaz are booked right now. Though former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen mentioned Holland vs. Diaz as something the promotion was working on, sources indicate to MMA Junkie that the wheels have not yet been put in motion.

Recently, Holland announced a drop to welterweight, as he heals up from injuries that caused him to withdraw from a November rematch against Kyle Daukaus.

Meanwhile, Diaz’s future is uncertain. The fan-favorite fighter returned from a six-and-a-half-year layoff, when he lost to Robbie Lawler via third-round TKO at UFC 266 in September. The took place at middleweight, one class heavier than what the two fighters initially agreed to. Upon arriving for fight week, Diaz negotiated the fight be moved from welterweight to 185 pounds.