Kevin Holland claims UFC middleweight title contender Darren Till is getting around rankings by 'dropping good memes'
Kevin Holland attributes Darren Till's relevance in the middleweight title picture to his witty internet presence.
During a recent interview with BT Sport, Kevin Holland shared details of his private conversation with Darren Till. As per the conversation, Holland will have to wait for his turn to fight for the title until Darren Till snatches it from champion Israel Adesanya.
"Me and Darren Till, we actually had a conversation about it... Darren Till can go out there and fight Israel Adesanya for the belt, smack Israel Adesanya for the belt... Take the belt from him. Then like he said, me and him could fight for the belt."
Darren Till is popular on social media for sharing witty content. Israel Adesnya has shown more inclination towards the Darren Till fight even though Till is a relatively unaccomplished middleweight with a 1-1 record in the division. Kevin Holland said Till's online presence has put him ahead of the pack in the 185lbs division.
Both Adesanya and Till are popular among the audience. They bring more eyeballs to the division than most of the other fighters. Holland wants to make the most out of their popularity by fighting the winner of the two.
"It does too have a little bromance going on and they really wanna fight. Let them fight, by all means. Darren Till is ahead of the way. He's ahead of the rankings by dropping good memes and not even winning fights at '85. So if that's the fight that people want, that's the fight that is gonna pay a lot of money, I am a businessman. Go ahead, do it," Kevin Holland said.
Kevin Holland has replaced Darren Till in a top contender fight
Kevin Holland's thoughts on Darren Till have come after the former stepped in to fight Marvin Vettori as Till's replacement at UFC on ABC 2. Till was forced to be pulled out of the fight due to a clavicle injury on March 31.
Holland is one of the most active fighters on the UFC roster right now. After scoring five straight wins in a span of seven months in 2020, Holland lost to veteran fighter Derek Brunson in the main event clash on March 20, 2021.
However, the short-notice fight against No.6 ranked Marvin Vettori presented a bigger opportunity for the 'Trail Blazer' immediately after the defeat.
Marvin Vettori is the better technical fighter overall and he also has a significant size advantage over Kevin Holland - who has contemplated a move down to welterweight recently.
Although Holland's chances of defeating Vettori are slim - especially since the bout will take place on short notice - a win would undoubtedly catapult Holland into a title shot against champion Israel Adesanya.
Kevin Holland and Marvin Vettori will headline UFC on ABC 2 event scheduled to take place on April 10, 2021. The event will be broadcast live from the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.