It's not easy at the top for Ronda Rousey.
Fresh off another dominating performance in a quick knockout of a "quality" opponent, the UFC women's bantamweight champion already is being put under the microscope for a possible, if unlikely, defeat by another up-and-coming opponent.
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A Bleacher Report article is claiming that a possible Rousey conqueror does exist in the likes of former women's boxing welterweight champion Holly Holm, who had a 33-2-3 record as a boxer.
Holm is 9-0 as an MMA fighter, made her UFC debut earlier in 2015. Her biggest asset may be the fact that she has yet to say anything derogatory about Rousey, who stopped the brash-talking Bethe Correia 34 seconds into their match over the weekend in Brazil.
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"Ronda has been incredible and she's run through everyone without it being too much of a competition," Holm told Yahoo's Kevin Iole. "She can clinch and toss you to the ground and then armbar you in two seconds. But if you don't get close enough, you can't hit her. You have to be able to put together a game plan to get past that."
Bleacher Report explains that Holm's cautious style would cause Rousey trouble because Holm wouldn't automatically allow Rousey to get her in a clinch, where Rousey is at her most dangerous.
Rousey charged at Correia, who didn't try to get out of the way. A combination of Rousey punches sent Correia to the mat, and from there Rousey grabbed Correia and the fight was over.
"This patience, science and discipline, things some fans consider to be 'boring,' compose a strategy that seems almost perfectly designed to lure a charging Rousey into trouble," Bleacher Report said. "Rousey's complete lack of nuance and propensity to throw her punches like a drunken sailor on a one-day pass could create opportunities for Holly to angle off her front leg and launch quick counters, racking up points and possibly putting Ronda into a defensive frame of mind.
"For all her success in the cage, we've never once seen Rousey deal with a fighter engaging from distance. No one has forced her to, instead accepting Rousey's rules and all but inviting themselves into her clinch."
Holm isn't even on Rousey's radar as she is exchanging words with Cris "Cyborg" Justino. Justino is threatening a slander lawsuit after Rousey hinted she couldn't come down from her 145-pound weight to fight Rousey at 135 because steroid use kept Justino too big, USA Today Sports' For the Win reported.
In 2011, Justino tested positive for an anabolic steroid.
Bleacher Report added that Holm, already a bantamweight, would be a huge underdog to Rousey at this point.
"But Holm, at the very least, would have a blueprint in place for success," Bleacher Report indicated. "She'd have a chance, if only a slim one.
"Against Ronda Rousey, that's the highest of compliments."
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