Holly Holm brought an abrupt end to Ronda Rousey’s reign atop the women’s bantamweight division when she landed a head kick that rendered “Rowdy” unconscious in the UFC 193 main event in November 2015. It was the last time Rousey stepped foot in the Octagon.
Rousey returns on Dec. 30, taking on current champion Amanda Nunes in the headlining bout of the UFC 207 pay-per-view at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Holm believes the women’s bantamweight title bout is a “wildcard” match-up.
“I feel like anybody can win in this game. We’re all fighting against the top fighters in the world, and anything can happen, and everybody is just a person, and anybody can be beat. So I don’t really put a lot into predictions. I do think that it’s going to depend on what Ronda we see,” Hold said during the UFC on Fox 22 post-fight press conference.
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“She’s obviously made it. She’s been an Olympic athlete. She’s been at the top of women’s MMA. She didn’t get there without having some kind of competitive spirit. But she’s also had some time off. And a lot of people question a lot of things about it,” she added. “You never know what’s going to happen. It’s a wildcard.”
It’s hard to make a prediction when there’s no historical data to help formulate an opinion. Holm pointed to the unknowns surrounding Rousey’s return for not picking a winner.
“I do think that coming back from a big loss, I’ve had some big losses before, and I know that after I’ve been laid out cold from being knocked out, going back, those first punches in a fight are kind of like, am I okay, am I okay,” said Holm.
“I think that’s a make or break moment, and Ronda’s never been there in a fight before. So I don’t think there’s any way to tell how she’s going to be in those first exchanges until it happens.”
