Money coming in on Holly Holm, but ex-champ Ronda Rousey still favored in rematch

Despite her one-sided loss to Holly Holm on Saturday in arguably the biggest upset in MMA history, Ronda Rousey still opened as the betting favorite in the potential 2016 rematch.

The line on Rousey (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) opened at -300, making her a 3-1 favorite, with Holm (10-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) as a +250 underdog. But those numbers quickly shifted with plenty of money coming in on Holm’s side – enough to drop Rousey to as low as about a -140 favorite as of Monday night according to numbers published at Best Fight Odds.

No date has been set for the likely rematch between the bantamweights, but on Saturday, after Rousey’s shocking knockout loss to Holm in the UFC 193 main event, UFC President Dana White said a rematch makes the most sense once Rousey completes obligations that were in place before the fight – including filming a pair of movies.

For UFC 193, which took place at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, and set a new UFC attendance record, Rousey was as much as a 20-1 favorite heading into the fight. Many bets were placed on Holm in the 24 hours before the fight, though, and by fight time the average odds for Rousey at online sports books had plummeted.

Those betting big on Holm the underdog got paid big. The former professional boxing champion dominated Rousey in the standup game from the opening bell, and early in the second round, after Rousey got up from a knockdown, she was sent right back to the canvas courtesy of a left kick to the head.

After two punches on the ground, Rousey was out cold and Holm was as unexpected of a new champion as anyone in MMA history. The sports world was stunned.

So what would be expected in a rematch? More of the same? From the looks of the lines, the early bettors believe Rousey may learn something from the first loss of her career – but that Holm will still be right there with her.

Now all the world needs is a date.

For complete coverage of UFC 193, check out the UFC Events section of the site.