Holly Holm has the chance to become a two-weight champion at UFC 219 in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday, although she must end the 12-year unbeaten streak of women’s featherweight title-holder Cris Cyborg in order to do so.
It was in Nevada that Holm, 36, lost the women’s bantamweight strap to Miesha Tate at UFC 196, but she’s hoping for better fortune this Saturday in what will be her first bout back in the Silver State since that submission loss.
A brawl between two strikers is expected this time around. Cyborg is three wins into her UFC career and enters this fight having beaten her last 12 opponents (including a 2011 Strikeforce win over Hiroko Yamanaka, later ruled a no contest for a positive steroid test, per MMA Mania’s Geno Mrosko).
Justin Hartling of OddsShark recently had Cyborg, 32, as the clear -360 (bet $360 to win $100) favourite for Saturday’s duel, while Holm (+270) could struggle to find the same space she’s enjoyed against previous opponents:
The weigh-in will take place on Friday at the T-Mobile Arena at 7 p.m. ET (12 a.m. GMT, Sat. Dec. 30), and we provide all the hype leading up to that event, complete with a fight prediction and preview.
Tickets for UFC 219 can be purchased via StubHub.com.
Holly Holm Upsets For Another Title Win
Rarely has a women’s UFC matchup held such devastating potential for on-the-feet entertainment, as neither woman has shown much preference for groundwork previously.
As such, it was little surprise to hear UFC pundit Kenny Florian point to the counterstrike being of particular importance, while former UFC middleweight champ Michael Bisping noted Holm‘s need for space in order to win:
The main issue for “The Preacher’s Daughter” is that Cyborg isn’t likely to grant such comforts. Her pace is relentless, evidenced by the fact four of her last six wins came via first-round knockout or TKO.
Her current game plan remains largely the same:
Prior to her days as a mixed martial artist and gaining fame as the first woman to defeat Ronda Rousey, Holm was a boxer, earning world titles in multiple federations.
Her class as a kickboxer could also be important in establishing a border between her and Cyborg—if she’s able to do so.
Cyborg’s boxing coach, Jason Parillo, recently told MMAJunkie (h/t Women’s MMA Rankings) that he expects his charge to “go in there and dominate,” whether that be on the feet or by utilising her brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
If Holm can keep the fight upright, she stands arguably the best chance of defeating the current featherweight champ of any Cyborg opponent to date, as she boasts the weapons in her arsenal to end this fight in an instant.
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