The UFC has announced that female Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey will defend her belt on Jan. 2 at UFC 195 against former boxing world champion Holly Holm. UFC President Dana White announced the matchup amid rumors that the UFC was working on the long talked about Rousey vs Cristiana ‘Cyborg” Justino bout for that timeframe.
The “Cyborg” bout could be roughly another year away, at minimum, since the calendar for Rousey calls for two fights a year and she would likely not be rebooked until mid-2016. Also being left on the sidelines to fast track this bout is Miesha Tate who, despite losing to Rousey twice, has worked her way back into title contention with four wins in a row. Since Tate is not booked for another fight, she may be greeting “Cyborg” to the UFC by end of the year.
The 33-year-old Holm is 2-0 in the UFC and she comes with a bulky boxing resume that saw her go 32-2-3 overall while holding world championships in multiple weight classes.
With the specialization in combat sports, it is unlikely that a men’s boxing world champion will ever capture a UFC world title, so Holm is in the unique position of potentially being the first and only World champion to capture belts in MMA and boxing. But nothing in her two UFC performances have shown us that Holm is ready for Rousey.
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In her debut back in February, Holm went the distance with Raquel Pennington, winning a split decision with the judges in a match she was expected to dominate. Her second outing saw her defeat Marion Reneau, who had been 2-0 in the UFC. Holm won a unanimous decision in that one.
Rousey has obviously been working on her boxing, and the champion may come in aggressively with strikes in the bout’s opening. Should Holm be able to maintain distance with a stiff jab and really turn it into a boxing match, she may have a chance. Other than that, it is hard to see how her cautious MMA game is going to serve her against an explosive champion like Rousey.
