UFC champ Holly Holm has 'zero concern' over UFC 196 main event snub

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Holly Holm will become the first UFC champion to take a backseat to a non-title fight in more than a decade on Saturday at UFC 196.

For the first time since UFC 51 in February 2005, a non-title fight will headline over a UFC championship bout when Conor McGregor (19-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) vs. Nate Diaz (18-10 MMA, 13-8 UFC) takes main event billing at UFC 196 over the women’s bantamweight championship affair between Holm (10-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) and challenger Miesha Tate (17-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC).

Featherweight champ McGregor’s position at the top of the card is more than understandable. He was originally penciled in asthe  headliner in a champion vs. champion fight with Rafael dos Anjos, but the 155-pound king pulled out of the fight due to an injury and Diaz stepped in as a last-minute replacement at welterweight.

Although there have been infrequent exceptions in company history, the UFC has almost always pushed to keep title fights at the top of the card. Holm didn’t get that opportunity but said she’s not losing sleep over it.

“I don’t really – a lot of people are like, ‘You should be the main event.’ I’m like, ‘co-main is fine,'” Holm told MMAjunkie. “I have my fight. That’s all I care about. It’s not my job to promote and I’m so glad because that’s really not a concern or care of mine.”

UFC 196 takes place at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. Holm vs. Tate and McGregor vs. Diaz are the featured bouts on the main card, which airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

McGregor’s main event spot does not rattle Holm, she said. Others were far more outraged, though, particularly because UFC President Dana White said in 2013 when discussing former champ Ronda Rousey that no matter the circumstances title fights would always be last on any given event.

“You will never see a (different) situation in any fight, whether men, women, the lightest weight division there is,” White said. “If you’re the champion, you’re the headliner. You’re the top of the card.”

Despite White’s comments, Holm said she still has a hard time getting worked up over the situation. “The Preacher’s Daughter” is a humble and reserved personality as is, and the lessened pressure to promote because of McGregor and Diaz’s presence actually allows her to put more focus on doing her primary job: defeating Tate.

“I just want to win,” Holm said. “I don’t care if it’s the first fight, the last fight (or) the second to last fight. It’s honestly – I have zero concern about that.”

For more on UFC 196, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.