UFC President Dana White expressed sympathy on Tuesday for Holly Holm after she lost her bantamweight title belt at UFC 196 to Miesha Tate, who defeated her this past Saturday in Las Vegas.
In an interview with ESPN's Russillo & Kanell radio show, White implied Holm didn't and still may not comprehend what was at stake in her bout with Tate (h/t ESPN.com's Brett Okamoto):
I feel bad for Holly. I don't know if Holly really knows what she lost. I think she has so much faith in the people that surround her, she feels like, 'Well, they got me this far.' We had this meeting, and Holly wasn't even in it. Holly, that's your life. You should be in that meeting. Don't leave it to these people. Anyway, Holly made a lot of money. She accomplished great things, she beat Ronda Rousey. But it could have been so much bigger for her, and the sad part is, I don't think she even knows it.
Saturday's fight at MGM Grand Garden Arena was stopped at three minutes, 30 seconds in the fifth round when Tate successfully performed a rear-naked choke on Holm and won by way of technical submission.
Perhaps Holm was bound to have a letdown after being the first woman to defeat the mighty Ronda Rousey. Now that Holm has lost, a prospective rematch with Rousey loses a lot of its luster.
White's own business is actually hindered as a result of Holm's loss, which could well be some of the motivation behind his public comments. He cast blame on Holm's manager, Lenny Fresquez, saying, "The sad part about that is, listen, he's an old boxing guy who thinks he's smart, and he's not."
Holm didn't have a lot of time to recover since November's epic triumph over Rousey, but Fresquez insisted his client had the final call on accepting the challenge of a Tate fight.
"It was a team decision, and Holly is the boss. She wanted to fight, and she got her wish. I think she'll fight Miesha or Ronda next," said Fresquez to Okamoto. He added, "Even with the title, a fight between Miesha and Rousey doesn't have the glamour a fight with Holly and Ronda does. Yeah, Holly lost. She made a mistake, but she'll learn from it. Everyone saw she's a warrior."
The loss to Tate was Holm's first of her professional mixed martial arts career, dropping her to 10-1 overall.
The 34-year-old may have worn herself too thin to have a prompt rematch with Tate or to take on a vengeful Rousey. Unfortunately for Holm, it appears as though she will have to watch from the sidelines as Tate and Rousey gear up for a probable championship bout.
Rousey is still the biggest female star in the UFC, but the question as to who's best among her, Holm and Tate is muddled at the moment.
It will be interesting to see how that impacts viewership, but Rousey's highly anticipated return to the Octagon ought to draw plenty of eyes as she tries to bounce back from an unprecedented defeat.
