The buzz surrounding former boxing champ turned MMA fighter Holly Holm has reached a fever pitch in recent weeks. Many have speculated as to whether or not Holm is the “huge announcement” opponent for Ronda Rousey that Joe Rogan previously hinted at, and her ongoing negotiations with the UFC seem to lend credence to this belief.
Of course, previous negotiations between Holm and the UFC have resulted in little more than a stalemate, with Holm’s manager, Lenny Fresquez, prematurely dubbing her “a franchise” among other ludicrous claims and earning the time-tested ire of Dana White. Things took a turn for the worst during yesterday’s edition of UFC Tonight, when White told Ariel Helwani that the negotiations between Fresquez were “not good at all” and that the UFC was “not interested whatsoever” in signing Holm.
This can only mean one thing: The UFC has signed Holly Holm.
(Photo via Getty.)
The buzz surrounding former boxing champ turned MMA fighter Holly Holm has reached a fever pitch in recent weeks. Many have speculated as to whether or not Holm is the “huge announcement” opponent for Ronda Rousey that Joe Rogan previously hinted at, and her ongoing negotiations with the UFC seem to lend credence to this belief.
Of course, previous negotiations between Holm and the UFC have resulted in little more than a stalemate, with Holm’s manager, Lenny Fresquez, prematurely dubbing her “a franchise” among other ludicrous claims and earning the time-tested ire of Dana White. Things took a turn for the worst during yesterday’s edition of UFC Tonight, when White told Ariel Helwani that the negotiations between Fresquez were “not good at all” and that the UFC was “not interested whatsoever” in signing Holm.
This can only mean one thing: The UFC has signed Holly Holm.
Don’t believe me? Ask Gilbert Melendez what it means when The Baldfather tells you he’s “no longer interested” in signing you. Ask Roy Nelson. Ask Kimbo f*cking Slice. The UFC has become notorious for trashing a fighter (or his management) one second and signing/re-signing them the next over the years –they don’t want you until they do — and while Melendez is clearly a more valued and recognizable commodity than Holm, let’s not act like the door has been closed on the former boxing champion, because very recent history has proven otherwise.
Considering that DW also told UFC Tonight that the UFC is not negotiating with either Cris Cyborg or Gina Carano despite reports to the contrary, all roads appear to lead to Holm (or that Canadian Olympian chick). OfficialCP Prediction: Holm and Rousey have already been booked as opposing coaches on the next, next, next season of The Ultimate Fighter and will fight in June of 2015. Or they’ve been booked as coaches on the next *international* season of TUF. Whatever, f*ck you.
(Chael Sonnen shows off the palatial estate that the UFC has set him up with for ‘TUF Brazil’, while his wife cooks dinner. Remember honey, he likes it medium rare. / Video via UFC)
(Chael Sonnen shows off the palatial estate that the UFC has set him up with for ‘TUF Brazil’, while his wife cooks dinner. Remember honey, he likes it medium rare. / Video via UFC)
Ronda Rousey is amazing. Simply amazing. The UFC women’s bantamweight champion possesses world-class Judo, and apparently some highly-effective Muay Thai as well. Her propensity for snatching and breaking arms was developed at an age before most kids can ride a bicycle without training wheels. As a competitor, she’s given us very little to criticize. The problem with Rousey is that she may quickly run out of competition. With Sara McMann bumped out of the picture, the women’s 135-pound division currently lacks athletes who can legitimately challenge Ronda’s dominance.
If Cristiane “Cris Cyborg” Justino does in fact drop to 135 and is signed to the UFC, a super-fight years in the making could take place. Cyborg is a challenge for any woman, and some men. Her athleticism, power, aggressiveness, and diverse set of skills have brought her nothing but victories for the last nine years (except for that one no-contest). Needless to say, the former handball player turned fighter may be the biggest — and most profitable — test lurking in the future for Rousey, assuming that Cyborg ever settles her beef with Dana White.
Outside of that, there are painfully few challengers that the UFC could throw at Ronda, and call it a “competitive matchup” with a straight face.
I was beyond excited to see Rousey take on Cat Zingano, whose striking skills and power, purple belt in BJJ, and high-level wrestling background make her more than qualified to give Rousey a great fight. Watching her finish Miesha Tate toward the end of their three-round back-and-forth battle gave me confidence in her abilities to contend for the title. However, after her knee injury and the devastating loss of her husband, she has been sidelined for the time being. According to her manager Ed Soares, however, she could be ready to step back into the cage “as early as June.”
Ronda Rousey is amazing. Simply amazing. The UFC women’s bantamweight champion possesses world-class Judo, and apparently some highly-effective Muay Thai as well. Her propensity for snatching and breaking arms was developed at an age before most kids can ride a bicycle without training wheels. As a competitor, she’s given us very little to criticize. The problem with Rousey is that she may quickly run out of competition. With Sara McMann bumped out of the picture, the women’s 135-pound division currently lacks athletes who can legitimately challenge Ronda’s dominance.
If Cristiane “Cris Cyborg” Justino does in fact drop to 135 and is signed to the UFC, a super-fight years in the making could take place. Cyborg is a challenge for any woman, and some men. Her athleticism, power, aggressiveness, and diverse set of skills have brought her nothing but victories for the last nine years (except for that one no-contest). Needless to say, the former handball player turned fighter may be the biggest — and most profitable — test lurking in the future for Rousey, assuming that Cyborg ever settles her beef with Dana White.
Outside of that, there are painfully few challengers that the UFC could throw at Ronda, and call it a “competitive matchup” with a straight face.
I was beyond excited to see Rousey take on Cat Zingano, whose striking skills and power, purple belt in BJJ, and high-level wrestling background make her more than qualified to give Rousey a great fight. Watching her finish Miesha Tate toward the end of their three-round back-and-forth battle gave me confidence in her abilities to contend for the title. However, after her knee injury and the devastating loss of her husband, she has been sidelined for the time being. According to her manager Ed Soares, however, she could be ready to step back into the cage “as early as June.”
There is one other women fighting outside the UFC, who I believe would be an interesting and tough match-up for Ronda Rousey. Holly Holm is an incredibly accomplished boxer, on a level we have not seen in either women’s or men’s MMA. With a astonishing 18 boxing titles in three weight classes, and a kickboxing record of 2-1, Holly steps into the cage with a striking background most MMA fighters would fear. With five KO/TKOs (including four via kicks) and one decision in her professional MMA record, she would seem to be her way to being signed by the UFC — as long as her management and the UFC can agree on a price. These are the women I see putting on exciting fights against Rousey, and the fact that only one of them is currently under contract with the UFC is a bit of a problem.
Rousey is great for the UFC, and she might very well be the promotion’s biggest star as of right now. Having her as a champion is a good thing, but without quality opponents, her pay-per-view buys will drop and her star will fade, as fans lose interest in the latest Ronda Rousey squash-match. The three women mentioned above would hypothetically make for better fights than the champ has had in the UFC so far, but there is no guarantee that she will ever fight any of them. Cyborg may not make weight, or get signed. Cat Zingano may not come back to fight at the top level, and Holly Holm may continue fighting on MMA’s regional circuit, competing in boxing and kickboxing on the side.
Women’s MMA is several years, if not a full decade behind the men’s divisions in terms of competition and depth of talent. There are fewer fighters, fewer weight classes, and fewer opportunities for women to compete. But the tide is turning. Ronda may remain on top, unchallenged for years until the sport catches up to her and young athletes who have been training all of their lives (like the champ herself) start fighting in the Octagon. In the meantime, I hope for the sake of the sport — and for Ronda Rousey herself — that we get to see her in competitive match-ups against the existing cream of the crop. Until then, we can only wonder how far ahead of the game she really is.
Ronda Rousey kneed Sara McMann into oblivion in a minute…or at least Herb Dean thought McMann had been kneed into oblivion. MMA fans were split about that part. Some thought the stoppage was deserved—McMann stopped intelligently defending herself when she crumpled to the mat clutching her sides. Others disagreed, citing the fact that McMann managed to rise to her feet immediately after Dean called off the bout (an intrepid Wikipedia vandal belonged to this school of thought).
The irritating ruckus that follows any disputed stoppage polluted Twitter and message boards before Rousey’s hand was even raised. MMA fans were (and still are) pissed.
Ronda Rousey kneed Sara McMann into oblivion in a minute…or at least Herb Dean thought McMann had been kneed into oblivion. MMA fans were split about that part. Some thought the stoppage was deserved—McMann stopped intelligently defending herself when she crumpled to the mat clutching her sides. Others disagreed, citing the fact that McMann managed to rise to her feet immediately after Dean called off the bout (an intrepid Wikipedia vandal belonged to this school of thought).
The irritating ruckus that follows any disputed stoppage polluted Twitter and message boards before Rousey’s hand was even raised. MMA fans were (and still are) pissed.
And that’s fantastic.
The UFC women’s bantamweight division is essentially a feeder system for Ronda Rousey, as well as a promotional vehicle for the conventionally attractive (they’ll never let you forget that) Judo star. Dana White admitted that he only allowed women in the UFC because of her. The rest of the division has no chance at taking the belt from her—did you seeAlexis Davis vs. Jessica Eye? Those women are two of the best in the weight class yet they’re both still milesastronomical units away from Rousey.
This formula of sacrificing over-matched fighters to the UFC’s sacred cash cow has worked. Ridiculous Dana White assertions aside, Rousey is one of the UFC’s only stars in a roster so bloated and bland that Lorenzo Fertitta himself probably couldn’t name half the fighters. Rousey is legitimately a super-awesome bad-ass who wrecks people and, to borrow Tomas Rios’ parlance, a Bro Queen. She’s tailor made for the MMA fan, from her unique Judo stylings down to the one-of-a-kind face she sports when walking to the cage. But as great as she is, the conveyor belt of challengers who pose no challenge will get boring.
After a while, fans will realize that the Woman to Beat Rousey™ conveniently always happens to be whoever she’s fighting next, and always gets destroyed anyway despite the hype of being Ronda’s “most dangerous opponent to date.” One day fans will get sick of Rousey crushing fighters that aren’t on her level in any aspect of MMA or even athleticism.
Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino seems the likely solution for this problem. She’s the only fighter scarier than Rousey. She’s so tough she made Gina Carano—then WMMA’s biggest star—retire after five minutes in the cage with her.
Too bad Dana White has zero interest in booking that fight, at least in the immediate future. Either he’s posturing, trying to downplay Justino’s value for the sake of negotiations, or he’s afraid that the female version of PRIDE-era Wanderlei Silva will slaughter his prized cash cow, Rousey. It seems White is content to not book what would be the biggest fight in WMMA history so Cyborg can continue to torture lesser fighters outside the UFC and Rousey can continue to torture lesser fighters inside the UFC.
Well what about famed boxer Holly Holm? She’s an impressive 6-0 in MMA and Rousey even expressed interest in fighting her. Too bad White doesn’t seem interested in that match either. This December he called Holm’s manager a “lunatic” and questioned the strength of Holm’s competition, insinuating she wasn’t UFC caliber (despite that term being obscenely meaningless in 2014).
The UFC doesn’t want to book the two biggest fights for Rousey. What’s left for her, then? Crushing the same cadre of women ad nauseam until she leaves for Hollywood or baby-making?
That’s why a controversial stoppage in Rousey vs. McMann was the best thing that could’ve happened. Many fans contested Herb Dean’s choice to stop the fight. The UFC can do the whole “Did Rousey REALLY beat McMann?” angle this time, and people will respond positively to it because it’s not a manufactured “OMG OLYMPIANS” gimmick. It’s appealing to the real emotions present. People felt the stoppage was BS, they want to see McMann fight Rousey again because she was doing well until Rousey’s knee smashed her liver.
The stoppage gave the UFC women’s bantamweight division a storyline—something to potentially look forward to other than clinch-throw-armbar-tap. And what if McMann gets a rematch and wins? Then WMMA will no-doubt have its first great trilogy when Rousey and McMann fight a third time. With Rousey’s star power it’ll be huge.
So let’s be thankful for Herb Dean’s questionable call, without it we’d have yawned and asked “who’s Rousey beating next?”
Let’s get one thing straight: Calling Holly Holm a “franchise” is ludicrously premature. Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva are MMA franchises. Beyond that, the list gets very thin. In fact, the concept of franchise players is fading in every sport as the Lebron Jameses and Jacoby Ellsburys of the sports world show that their loyalty only extends to the highest free market bidder.
The argument could be made that UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is a franchise athlete. After all, Dana White has admitted that the UFC only created the women’s division because of her. But Holly Holm is not on the same level of recognizability as Rousey. Sure she was a big boxing draw in New Mexico, but being a regional draw does not translate to franchise-level success with a global brand like the UFC.
Chances are, not many outside of the hardcore MMA and boxing fanbase have even heard of Holly Holm. The Holly Holm brand might bring a few new eyeballs from the boxing world but she is certainly not selling a PPV on her own.
However, just because Holly Holm is not a “franchise” does not mean she wouldn’t make a great investment for the UFC’s fledgling women’s division. Holm is a fantastic athlete. Once considered by many as the best female boxer on the planet, she was twice named Ring Magazine’s female Fighter of the Year. Training under Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn, she not only has the physical ability and attributes, she also has the right team around her to be a world champion in MMA.
It’s possible that Holm may one day be a UFC franchise athlete. She certainly has the potential to dominate a women’s division that is severely lacking in high-quality strikers. She could also develop into a legitimate MMA star. She’s personable, good looking and professional. However, she’s not there yet.
(Fresquez and Holm field questions after her win over Angela Hayes on Friday. / Photo via Getty)
Let’s get one thing straight: Calling Holly Holm a “franchise” is ludicrously premature. Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva are MMA franchises. Beyond that, the list gets very thin. In fact, the concept of franchise players is fading in every sport as the Lebron Jameses and Jacoby Ellsburys of the sports world show that their loyalty only extends to the highest free market bidder.
The argument could be made that UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is a franchise athlete. After all, Dana White has admitted that the UFC only created the women’s division because of her. But Holly Holm is not on the same level of recognizability as Rousey. Sure she was a big boxing draw in New Mexico, but being a regional draw does not translate to franchise-level success with a global brand like the UFC.
Chances are, not many outside of the hardcore MMA and boxing fanbase have even heard of Holly Holm. The Holly Holm brand might bring a few new eyeballs from the boxing world but she is certainly not selling a PPV on her own.
However, just because Holly Holm is not a “franchise” does not mean she wouldn’t make a great investment for the UFC’s fledgling women’s division. Holm is a fantastic athlete. Once considered by many as the best female boxer on the planet, she was twice named Ring Magazine’s female Fighter of the Year. Training under Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn, she not only has the physical ability and attributes, she also has the right team around her to be a world champion in MMA.
It’s possible that Holm may one day be a UFC franchise athlete. She certainly has the potential to dominate a women’s division that is severely lacking in high-quality strikers. She could also develop into a legitimate MMA star. She’s personable, good looking and professional. However, she’s not there yet.
Holm hasn’t fought anybody even near the top 10 in MMA and it’s yet to be seen what will happen once she gets taken down by a quality grappler. Her last fight was a forgettable unanimous decision win over 40-year old Angela Hayes, who has a losing record. Even during her successful boxing career, there were those in the boxing community who felt Holm was protected by not facing top competition, like Cecilia Braekhus, and mostly fighting in her hometown.
Though her early MMA career has intentionally followed the boxing model of record-padding en route to a title fight, Holm needs to fight high-quality competition in order to demand anything close to six-figures upon entry into the UFC. Fresquez claims that Holm makes more than 80% of UFC fighters. That may have been true in her boxing career — although even that seems doubtful — but she certainly didn’t make that much fighting for Bellator and Legacy FC.
The Holly Holm controversy will likely devolve into a debate about unfair UFC fighter pay in general. That debate has been going on for years and will continue to rage for years to come. However, this is about the worth of one particular fighter in the context of the current WMMA landscape, and Holm’s management needs to be careful not to price her out of a potentially lucrative long-term UFC career.
Zuffa has shown that they are willing to let free agents sign with other companies if the UFC feels the fighters are not worth what they could get on the free market. For every Hector Lombard who gets signed to an inflated UFC contract, there are the Ben Askrens of the world who the UFC decides aren’t worth it.
Dana White has called Holly Holm “the female Conor McGregor” because of the amount of MMA fans telling him to sign her. There’s no doubt the UFC wants Holm but they don’t exactly need her either. They have a long list of contenders waiting to challenge for Rousey’s belt with Miesha Tate, Cat Zingano, Alexis Davis, and Sara McMann waiting in the wings. Holm versus Rousey would certainly be a high-profile matchup. It would be a marketing dream — a pound-for-pound world champion boxer versus the Olympic judoka and undisputed MMA champion — if we ever get to see it happen. At this point it looks like a big if.
The MMA landscape is littered with managers who have screwed over their fighters by overvaluing their clients. So far, Lenny Fresquez has done an outstanding job promoting — and some would argue protecting — Holm’s career, both in boxing and MMA. However, his recent claim that Holm needs a six-figure contract in order to sign with the UFC is delusional. Holm has a bright future in MMA. She would be a great addition to the UFC’s roster and could pose a legitimate threat to Rousey’s belt. However, Fresquez needs to recognize that WMMA is still in its infancy and the market value is not the same as it is in boxing. He’s doing his job trying to get the most for his client but he needs to be careful not to play his client right out of the UFC picture altogether.
If Holm is worth it, she’ll establish herself as a top contender and get her six-figure contract in due time. However, that time is not now.
(Yet another tragic defeat for the Zulu family. / Photo via Sherdog)
Look, we know it can’t be easy to find credible opponents for undefeated bantamweight Holly Holm (5-0, all wins by KO/TKO), who has deservedly picked up the unofficial title of Best Striker in Women’s MMA. Most of the top female MMA talent at 135 pounds is already in the UFC, with a couple of holdouts still working in Invicta. The fact that Holm isn’t already under contract with the UFC is by design: Her trainer Mike Winkeljohn says that he wants to build her name to the point where she can demand top-level money by the time she enters the Octagon, and walk straight into a super-fight. Until then, Holm will be padding out her record with whoever’s willing to take a beating.
Coming off her LFC 24 demolition of some woman named Nikki Knudsen, Holm will return to the cage on December 6th in the main event of Fresquez Promotions: Havoc against — get this — Angela Hayes, a 40-year-old bantamweight from Colorado Springs who carries a career record of 6-6. Hayes boasts four wins by guillotine choke, four losses by armbar, and hasn’t competed in two years. She sounds perfect.
“Havoc” will take place at the Route 66 Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which means that Holm will have home-town advantage as well. Good grief. By the way, I tried to Google ‘Angela Hayes’ to find out more about her, and most of the results were about the Mena Suvari character in ‘American Beauty’. Not that I’m complaining.
(Yet another tragic defeat for the Zulu family. / Photo via Sherdog)
Look, we know it can’t be easy to find credible opponents for undefeated bantamweight Holly Holm (5-0, all wins by KO/TKO), who has deservedly picked up the unofficial title of Best Striker in Women’s MMA. Most of the top female MMA talent at 135 pounds is already in the UFC, with a couple of holdouts still working in Invicta. The fact that Holm isn’t already under contract with the UFC is by design: Her trainer Mike Winkeljohn says that he wants to build her name to the point where she can demand top-level money by the time she enters the Octagon, and walk straight into a super-fight. Until then, Holm will be padding out her record with whoever’s willing to take a beating.
Coming off her LFC 24 demolition of some woman named Nikki Knudsen, Holm will return to the cage on December 6th in the main event of Fresquez Promotions: Havoc against — get this — Angela Hayes, a 40-year-old bantamweight from Colorado Springs who carries a career record of 6-6. Hayes boasts four wins by guillotine choke, four losses by armbar, and hasn’t competed in two years. She sounds perfect.
“Havoc” will take place at the Route 66 Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which means that Holm will have home-town advantage as well. Good grief. By the way, I tried to Google ‘Angela Hayes’ to find out more about her, and most of the results were about the Mena Suvari character in ‘American Beauty’. Not that I’m complaining.
