Holly Holm ready to give Ronda Rousey a title rematch

MANILA, Philippines – Newly-minted champion Holly Holm is not backing down from a challenge as she is willing to give former titleholder Ronda Rousey a rematch following her championship-winning performance at UFC 193 on Sunday, November 15 (Manila time).

Holm dethroned Rousey for the women’s bantamweight title by knocking out the previously-unbeaten fighter with a left head kick and polished her off with follow-up shots on the ground to compel referee Herb Dean to intervene at the :59 second mark of round two.

During the post-UFC 193 press conference, Holm stressed that Rousey deserves a rematch against her inside the Octagon.

“I think a rematch makes sense for sure,” she said. “I’ve been on the losing side of a fight [in boxing], and I wanted a rematch. I wanted to avenge my loss. With a champion like Ronda, who’s gone out of her way and gone above and beyond to do great things, absolutely, she deserves a rematch.”

UFC president Dana White is also not ruling out a second meeting between Holm and Rousey as he believes that it is sensible to book in the near future.

“Obviously, we don’t make fights on the night of the fight, but the rematch makes a lot of sense,” White stated.

In arguably the biggest upset in the history of the sport, Holm fought the perfect fight as she set the tone by circling away from Rousey throughout the first round and countering with accuracy and power.

According to FightMetric statistics, Holm landed 38 of 53 strikes as she peppered Rousey with straight lefts, standing elbow shots and a sidekick.

Holm finished the job in the second round, where she torched her stumbling opponent with a left high kick and follow-up punches while on the mat.

“I don’t look at this belt and think I’ve made it. I think there are some things that I need to do. I think a rematch is kind of unspoken common sense to me,” Holm quipped.

Rousey’s defeat also opens new avenues for other female competitors in the 135-pound weight class as Holm was only ranked No.7 when she accepted the offer to vie for the belt.

Ahead of Holm in the official UFC women’s bantamweight rankings are Miesha Tate, Cat Zingano, Amanda Nunes, Sarah Kaufman, Julianna Pena and Sara McMann.

Holm has never fought any of the aforementioned names in the Top 6 of her division, while Rousey was able to defeat four of the six world-ranked female bantamweights.

In addition, it spoils the talks of the much-awaited encounter between Rousey and Invicta FC featherweight champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino.

“It changes a lot of things, [including] the Cyborg fight. And some other stuff we are working on,” White shared. – Rappler.com