Holly Holm Will Fight Before Her Rematch With Ronda Rousey
In a bit of surprising news considering her thought-to-be-confirmed rematch with Ronda Rousey was already set for the biggest bout of 2015, UFC President Dana White confirmed on Wednesday’s episode of UFC Tonight that Holly Holm will actually be fighting before her rematch with the former champ:
“”Holly Holm will fight before she fights Ronda,” White said. “”You will see Ronda Rousey fight again,” White said. “Ronda has some well-deserved time off, but she will fight this year.”
WOW. You heard it here first.
Dana White: "@HollyHolm WILL fight before she fights @RondaRousey."
— UFC Tonight (@UFCTonight) January 6, 2016
Dana: You'll see @RondaRousey fight again. She’s dedicated the last 3+ years to working hard fighting + promoting…she will fight this year."
— UFC Tonight (@UFCTonight) January 6, 2016
It’s expected that Holm will be defending her women’s bantamweight title in her next bout, and while White did not announce when or who she’ll fight next, Miesha Tate is a name that has been rumored and would be the obvious choice for the title shot with five straight victories in the Octagon.
Holm (10-0) is 6-0 in her last six. After winning 17 world titles in boxing, she made her UFC debut earlier this year and beat Raquel Pennington at UFC 184 by split decision. She beat Marion Reneau at UFC Fight Night 72 by unanimous decision before beating Rousey via second round knockout at UFC 193 to shockingly become the new champion.
Holm and Rousey are expected to fight at UFC 200, but that timeline could be pushed back significantly if Holm does fight again and emerges with any sort of injuries. Many feel that Rousey will not be able to return at full strength by July when UFC 200 takes place due to the devastating nature in which she lost.
