XFC lightweight champion Scott Holtzman was released from his promotional contract with the Florida based promotion last week and he is currently a free agent.
Holtzman announced his status as a free agent on social media last week and the XFC confirmed to TheMMAReport.com on Tuesday that they released the lightweight fighter from his contract so he could explore other options in the sport.
During an interview for this week’s edition of “The MMA Report Podcast,” Holtzman was complementary of the promotion that gave him his start in the sport and explained the decision to ask the promotion out of his deal before it expired next month.
“I had a great run with the XFC and nothing but good things to say about them,” Holtzman said. “As a lot of people know there shows are kind of dying down in the Unites States. I had hand surgery, so I am ready to go again and they really do not have any shows on tap. My contract was supposed to come to term on September 27th and I went ahead to ask for an early release about a month a half ago so I go ahead and start entertaining some offers I had been getting. I am excited to move on with my career.”
Since he was released from his contract with the XFC, Holtzman’s manager, Danny Rubenstein has reached out to multiple promotions including Titan Fighting Championship. Holtzman tweeted about the offer from Titan recently, which he felt should have been higher than what it was.
“My manager kind of reached out to them and they fired back a low ball offered and basically told me I was not worth a whole lot and I would be on the undercard,” said Holtzman. “That’s no problem and I do not take it personal, that’s business. They think I am worth one thing and I think I am worth a little more so that’s what it is. It wasn’t a big deal to me. I had plenty of other offers that were much better deals than Titan so I will just go with one of those. No big deal to me.”
While Holtzman would only name Titan as an organization his manager has contacted, would he be open to signing with promotions like Bellator or World Series of Fighting? According to Holtzman, he would only sign with a promotion if there was a clause that allowed him out of the deal if he received an offer from the UFC.
“The only way I would sign a new contract if it did have that clause,” he said. “I had some talks with other companies, larger companies, but I am not really interested unless they have that clause. That is the only way.”
Holtzman spends part of his time training at the MMA Lab in Arizona with several current UFC fighters including Benson Henderson and Jamie Varner. While the opportunity to fight in the UFC has not happened yet, he is confident that he will get the call from the UFC at some point.
“I will get my shot and I am positive about that. UFC is where I belong and it’s just a matter of time.”