On the heels of her dominant victory over Bethe Correia, it was announced Friday that UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey‘s next challenger will be Holly Holm at UFC 195.
According to SportsCenter, Rowdy made the official announcement during an appearance on Good Morning America. UFC President Dana White confirmed it and set the bout for Jan. 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Rousey also tweeted out an early look at the poster for what promises to be a highly anticipated clash:
Upon revealing her latest opponent, Rousey was extremely complimentary of Holm and what she brings to the table as a former world champion boxer, per Good Morning America (via Chuck Mindenhall of MMAFighting.com):
January 2 I’ll be fighting Holly Holm, who’s the most decorated striker we have in all of mixed martial arts. Not the women’s division, not the bantamweight division. (Holm)’s a 19-time boxing champion. Holly Holm was The Ring magazine pound-for-pound Fighter of the Year, and definitely my biggest challenge to date.
The 28-year-old Rousey is a perfect 12-0 in her career with only one fight lasting beyond the first round. She is the most dominant force in mixed martial arts and is coming off a 34-second victory.
Holm is also undefeated at 9-0, but the 33-year-old New Mexico native doesn’t have a body of work that rivals Rousey’s in the world of MMA.
She is a former Legacy FC women’s bantamweight champion, however, and she boasts a 2-0 record since making the leap to UFC.
Six of Holm’s nine victories have come by way of knockout, and she poses somewhat of a threat to Rousey after going 33-2-3 as a boxer, but nobody has truly pushed the champ to this point.
Unless Holm is able to catch Rousey with some punches right off the bat, she figures to be in big trouble. Her lack of experience in terms of a ground game leaves her susceptible to Rowdy’s dominant armbar.
Most UFC fans are anxiously awaiting Rousey stepping into the Octagon with Cris Cyborg, and while the Holm fight will delay it even further, it should build the anticipation and add another win to Rousey’s record as well.
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