Holly Holm will have yet another opportunity to play legacy spoiler when she meets the unbeatable Cris Cyborg at UFC 219 on Dec. 30 live on pay-per-view (PPV) from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Remember, Holm has been down this road before. The former boxing champion pulled off one of the biggest upsets in mixed martial arts (MMA) history when she destroyed Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 to claim the women’s bantamweight title. “The Preacher’s Daughter” was aiming to rematch Rousey following that monumental showing but the reboot never came to fruition.
“With Ronda, I was open to a rematch as well, it’s just they didn’t know how long or when she would come back or if she would want to, and that’s when I said I don’t want to just wait around,” Holm said during UFC 219’s media conference call earlier this week (h/t FloCombat). “I’ll wait if you can tell me if it’s going to be within six months or whatever, but I didn’t want to just be waiting around for that one fight. I want to be able to fight and train and live out my passion. I didn’t want it to be based on just one fighter.
“So I was welcome to the fact to rematch her. It’s just they didn’t have any answer if she really was going to come back and if she did how long it would be. So I think that situation was different.”
Now competing at featherweight, Holm will have another chance to pull off the unthinkable when she throws hands with Cyborg at UFC 219. If Holm is able to defeat the Brazilian and end her 12-year unbeaten streak she’ll pay Cyborg the same courtesy she did Rousey and offer a rematch.
“If that were to happen in this fight, of course I would say yes,” said Holm. “I think anybody deserves a rematch. I think that’s just the name of the game. That’s the fighting spirit, and I would definitely be open to that. I feel like Cris is definitely a competitive person as well and trains hard, and I think her and Ronda are two really different people.
“I feel like the situation after the fight would be a little bit different anyway. I don’t think Cris would want to sit aside for a year or however long. I mean, I don’t know, but I feel like [there] would be the chance of a rematch if that were to happen.”
Not only are Rousey and Cyborg considered two of the best female mixed martial artists of all time, but they present two completely different challenges inside of the cage. If Holm is able to defeat Cyborg at UFC 219 she’ll make a good case for the greatest female fighter ever.
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