Unbeaten Smith warns Holland their feud could spill outside the UFC cage

Jacobe Smith has warned that his simmering feud with Kevin Holland could turn physical away from the UFC cage, accusing the veteran welterweight of sending him provocative direct messages while avoiding him in person.

Smith and Holland were booked to fight twice — first at UFC Oklahoma City in July, then at UFC 332 on 3 October in Salt Lake City — but Holland withdrew on both occasions due to injuries. The repeated cancellations have left the undefeated Smith openly frustrated and increasingly hostile toward his would-be opponent.

“I’ll never like him; I want that win on my record just to tell him I’m the big dog here,” Smith told Full Send MMA. “Put some respect on my name… I see us crossing paths outside of the cage and there being an altercation because of how he’s in the DMs. And the sh*t that he be talking. He didn’t do it face-to-face like that.”

Smith (13-0) has finished all four of his UFC opponents since joining the promotion and returns to action on Saturday at UFC Vegas 123 at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, where he faces Randy Brown (20-8). A convincing performance there would only strengthen his case for a rescheduled meeting with Holland.

Holland (29-15, 1 NC), meanwhile, is booked to face Uros Medic (14-3) at UFC 334 on 14 November at Madison Square Garden in New York. Whether the two welterweights eventually share the Octagon remains to be seen, but Smith has made clear the animosity will not fade in the meantime.