With the UFC officially announcing Holly Holm vs. Miesha Tate at UFC 197 on March 5 in Las Vegas, fans now know Ronda Rousey will be sitting out a little while longer.
According to Holm’s striking coach, Mike Winkeljohn, her No. 1 priority is remaining active and that’s why a fight with Tate made the most sense, especially with Rousey recovering from a fierce beating at the hands of Holm. However, Winkeljohn, like everyone else, knows Rousey-Holm II is the “money” fight.
And it’s a fight the Holm camp wants very much – assuming Rousey has the “guts” to sign on the dotted line, of course.
“I hope so,” Winkeljohn said to Submission Radio when asked if Holm would compete at UFC 200. “You know, that’s Holly. … She has that Cowboy Cerrone mentality where she just wants to fight and get through this thing. She’ll let us know when it’s time to hang it up. She likes to fight.
“So in a perfect world, that’d be fantastic. Let’s have her go fight whoever they give us, show the world that it’s not a one-and-done with Holly Holm, that she can destroy the next person. And then, if Ronda has the guts to do it again, let’s do it again for some big money.”
Holm head-kicking Rousey into oblivion at UFC 193 is one of the biggest upsets in the history of mixed martial arts. So, there is little doubt a second fight with Rousey will do massive numbers.
How soon fans will get to see it, though, is an entirely different story.
Rousey, 28, went on record saying a rematch with Holm, 34, is her only interest. Speaking to ESPN the Magazine, Rousey had this to say about a second Holm fight: “Who knows if I’m going to pop my teeth out or break my jaw or rip my lip open again. I have to [expletive] do it. It doesn’t matter. I have to do it.”
Rousey will, in all likelihood, have her chance to avenge the loss to Holm at some point in the future. Whether Holm can remain champion after fighting Tate – thus assuring UFC gold will be on the line – is anyone’s guess.
“Holly’s ready to go,” said Winkeljohn. “We’ll go through whoever they give her and after that, if Ronda is ready again – I’m not sure if she’s ready, I don’t know – then she’ll go in there and beat up Ronda again.”
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Ryan McKinnell is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports Cagewriter blog. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
