Clearly, things are heating up due to the increasingly public negotiations between Holly Holm and the UFC in regards to the 34-year-old’s first title defense.
Holm shocked the UFC 193 when she knocked out undefeated, “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey, and took her place on top of the food chain. Following her victory, Holm was in a very good mood and admitted that it was the right thing to do on her part to give her downed opponent a rematch in the near future.
,“I think a rematch makes sense for sure. I’ve been on the losing side of a fight and I wanted the rematch, I wanted to avenge my loss. With a champion like Ronda – who has gone out of her way, above and beyond, to do great things – absolutely she deserves a rematch,” Holly Holm had stated.
However, it appears that just a few weeks after being so open-hearted about the rematch, Holm and her camp is probably having second thoughts. Due to the knockout she received, Rousey is not going to be able to return to the cage for three to six months which is why, Holm’s manager, Lenny Fresquez does not want to wait for the next fight for that long, stating that he believes that his client can go on and fight with Miesha Tate who is currently the best opponent for the UFC Women’s bantamweight title.
““Holly’s used to staying active,” Fresquez said to latimes.com on Monday. “We’re from the old school, and we believe the No. 1 contender is there for a reason. … [Tate] deserves a shot, but it’s not for me to decide.”
He continued, “We’d like to fight Miesha. We understand there are risks, but Holly’s a dominant champion, and she wants to fight the best. Right now, Miesha is the best.”
Reports claim that Fresquez had a meeting with the UFC in Las Vegas where he was informed that there were no open slots from now until July that would allow the Holm vs. Tate fight to take place. However, Fresquez is set to come up with a proposal soon.
Apparently, the decision has been made already if Dana White, the UFC President’s words are taken into context.
UFC president Dana White on Wednesday spoke to the L.A. Times’ Lance Pugmire – who later tweeted the exchange – and told him, “no matter what Holly Holm’s manager says, her next fight in July will be against Ronda Rousey.”
Moreover, it appears that White is not bothered by what Holm’s manager has to say about the fight after he stated in a sarcastic tone, “we’re real concerned with his opinion.”
And although White using the media to send his message across is nothing new neither is there anything wrong with it but the president is playing a very dangerous game by taking a hard stance in favor of the former champion who everyone knows is a very close friend of his.
Regardless of what people say, Holly Holm is the best thing that has happened to UFC of late and at the end of the day, the least she deserves for ending Rousey’s cherished undefeated streak, is have a say on who she wants to fight next.
Be the first to comment on "UFC and Holly Holm camp at odds over next opponent"