Holly Holm is no longer the champion, but that doesn't mean she regrets not waiting around for Ronda Rousey to return.
There was some big money to be made in a rematch between Holm and Rousey, but now that the former is no longer UFC women's bantamweight champion, a potenital rematch has lost some of its starch.
Holm ended Rousey's undefeated streak and won the belt at UFC 193 on Nov. 15. After the loss, "Rowdy" disappeared from the UFC and she remains sidelined, though she's reportedly training for a return. Rather than wait for Rousey to make a comeback, Holm defended her belt against Miesha Tate at UFC 196 on Mar. 5, where she dropped the title.
Tate then fell to Amanda Nunes at UFC 200 in her first defense of the title on July 9 in Las Vegas. Rousey had six straight successful defenses as champion, but the next two title-holders fell in their first defense. Though she lost her title in her first bout as champion, Holm said she has no regrets about not waiting around for Rousey.
"I 100 percent stand by [my decision]," Holm said about taking a bout with Tate via MMAFighting.com, "because we're still waiting for Ronda to come back. And that was my point being. I told them, I said, 'I will wait for the rematch with Ronda as long as we can promise that it will be by a certain time.'"
Holm will return to the Octagon Saturday on "UFC on Fox 20" where she takes on Valentina Shevchenko in Chicago. Rousey, meanwhile, has yet to announce when she'll return to the Octagon.
After her first-ever defeat, Rousey went on a downward spiral and even said she had suicidal thoughts, but got through it with the help of her boyfriend, fellow UFC fighter Travis Browne. Her return to the Octagon has been a question mark ever since.
The UFC has been rife with controversy lately with the doping scandals of Jon Jones and Brock Lesnar, but Holm said in the same interview that she has no issues with PEDs -- and in fact has been tested more than anyone else.
"Friday was number 14 just within the last year," Holm said.
"UFC on Fox 20" likely won't be as controversial as UFC 200.
For more content, follow us on Twitter @SportsWN or LIKE US on Facebook.
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
