Kevin Holland has plenty of respect for Ian Garry — but doesn't believe they'll be fighting anytime in the near future.

Garry is coming off a dominant unanimous decision win over Neil Magny at UFC 292 earlier this month. Although Magny stepped in on short notice, he was still the toughest matchup of Garry's career as the Irishman improved to 6-0 in the UFC with the win.

Holland was particularly impressed with his showing and believes Garry is well on his way to achieving his potential.

“I think he answered a lot of questions – looked really good,” Holland said on the Believe You Me podcast (via MMA Junkie). “UFC says they have a blueprint for these guys to be something special when they have the Irish accent, so I think he’s on his way. I think it’s going to be wonderful.”

Holland, of course, is alluding to Garry being a hype train backed by the UFC and there's nothing wrong with that if he goes on to become a champion. Just look at Conor McGregor and Sean O'Malley.

Garry isn't rushing a title shot either. He declared post-fight that he wanted at least four fights before going on to challenge for the title so that he could hone his craft in grappling and wrestling.

However, Holland doesn't expect to be part of any of those four fights and believes it's for a simple reason — the aforementioned blueprint the UFC has in mind for him.

“They have a blueprint for guys like that, and I don’t think I fit the blueprint,” Holland explained. “I don’t think I fit the bill when it comes to what Ian Garry has planned and, you know, props to the guy. Nothing but respect.

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“The dude’s 25 and he takes his career very, very seriously. When I was 25 years old, I really didn’t give two s***s about the career, so props to that guy. When I was 25, I wanted to make it, but didn’t really care if I did. He’s there and he’s taking advantage of it.”

Of course, Holland is ranked No. 13 while Garry is No. 11 and only looking upwards in the rankings, so it remains to be seen if a fight between them would have been booked regardless.

However, it would definitely be an intriguing matchup — one quite a few would likely favor Holland in.