There were plenty of strikes thrown this past weekend at UFC 229, and four of them belonged to the left elbow of Scott Holtzman, who turned in the best performance of his career while stopping Alan Patrick at the event. 

So while the world was talking about what suspension might be next for some fighters, Holtzman is focused on his future plans.

“I’d like a top-20 guy,” Holtzman told Top Turtle MMA Podcast on FloCombat.

His three victories in a row certainly warrant a step up in competition—especially given that his UFC 229 opponent was on a three-fight winning streak of his own. Although some fighters don’t care who’s next as long as they get a step closer to their goals, Holtzman had a name locked and loaded. 

“I know Jim Miller is available,” Holtzman said. “I think that would be a good fight.”

In an era where callouts are all about disrespect and antagonistic behavior, this callout is all business. Jim Miller checks all of the boxes for Holtzman. 

“He’s possibly going into the hall of fame," Holtzman said. "He kind of bounced back in his last fight and looked real good. So, I think that’s who I’m looking for next. [I’m] just trying to find a guy who’s on the fringe that can get me into the rankings, has a big name, has lots of fans, is a good fighter—all that mess.”

Of course, Holtzman realizes it’s hard for anything to work out the way it’s planned in MMA. First, his hands have to heal up before he can get back in there. Hopefully, that allows time to get the matchup lined up the way he wants it. 

“We’ll see if schedules line up. This game is about timing,” Holtzman said.

Regardless of when that fight—or whatever his next fight might be—materializes, you can expect more surprises from Holtzman. His use of elbows to put away his opponent might have been new to us, but according to him, it’s the first of many developments. 

“Man, I have so many tools, I’ll never be able to use them all in a whole career,” Holtzman said.