UFC-Singapore's Holly Holm doesn't regret missing out on that Ronda Rousey rematch

SINGAPORE – As the two-year anniversary of Holly Holm’s legendary knockout win over Ronda Rousey draws near, the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion is still asked about her decision not to wait for an immediate rematch.

Although the head-kick finish of Rousey (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) at UFC 193 in November 2015 was a highlight, Holm’s (10-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) career has since taken a downward turn.

Holm brings a three-fight losing skid into Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 111 headliner, where she meets Bethe Correia (10-2-1 MMA, 4-2-1 UFC) in a 135-pound bout at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. The entire event streams on UFC Fight Pass.

A rematch with Rousey seemed like the most obvious option following UFC 193, but “Rowdy” then took time off with an uncertain return. That’s when Holm accepted another fight – one that backfired when she lost the belt via fifth-round submission to Miesha Tate at UFC 196 in March 2016.

Holm has struggled to get back on track and then dropped a decision to Valentina Shevchenko before moving up a weight class only to fall short against Germaine de Randamie for the inaugural women’s featherweight belt at UFC 208 in February.

It’d be easy to criticize Holm and argue she should have simply waited however long it took for the Rousey rematch; it would have been the biggest fight possible with the most upside. “The Preacher’s Daughter” said that’s simply not how she operates, though.

“I didn’t want my career to be based around one person or one fight or wait for the rematch because of the money,” Holm told MMAjunkie ahead of UFC Fight Night 111. “That’s just not how – I don’t fight for money. I fight for passion. A lot of people from the outside looking at the business aspect are thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, you should have waited and just fought Ronda in the rematch.’ But there’s a lot that’s happened since then.”

UFC President Dana White, in particular, has criticized the choice made by Holm and her management team not to wait for the rematch.

Rousey went left the spotlight following her first career loss. It wasn’t until after Holm dropped the belt that she expressed interest in fighting again, and by the time she returned, the 135-pound belt she held for so long was in the possession of current champ Amanda Nunes.

The comeback finally happened at UFC 207 in December, more than 13 months after the knockout loss to Holm. Rousey was dismantled in her comeback and lost to Nunes by 48-second TKO. She hasn’t officially retired form the sport, but White has said he doesn’t expect Rousey, who recently announced her engagement to UFC heavyweight Travis Browne, to return.

The Holm-Rousey rematch would have been one of the biggest fights in UFC history, but as a fighter who prefers to stay active, Holm said she doesn’t regret her choice.

The only thing Holm regrets about the situation, she said, is not producing better performances following the Rousey loss.

“I’m never going to sit there and say I coulda, shoulda, woulda done this,” Holm said. “The only thing I do with I coulda, shoulda, woulda done is just win whatever fight I had, not wait for the one fight. I don’t ever feel like that. My whole career is not defined around one fight. This is my whole career, and the only thing I regret is not doing better in the fights that I’ve had.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 111, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.