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Holly Holm’s New Ranking Shows Lack of Depth in Women’s MMA

Holly Holm is back in title contention for the UFC’s women’s bantamweight division after knocking out Bethe Correia with a brutal head kick at last weekend’s (Sat., June 17, 2017) UFC Fight Night 111 from Singapore. With the win, Holm moved up to number two in the rankings even though she had not won a fight since […]

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With the win, Holm moved up to number two in the rankings even though she had not won a fight since November 2015 when she used the same left high kick to finish Ronda Rousey to win the title and shock the world in the main event of the now-historic UFC 193.

After that, Holm (11-3) lost three consecutive times to the likes of Miesha Tate, Valentina Shevchenko and Germaine de Randamie, and had not backflipped inside the octagon for almost two years.

Before Saturday’s card, Holm hadn’t fought at 135 pounds since July 23, 2016. She was outclassed by number one-ranked Shevchenko and then went on to lose a decision for the women’s featherweight strap to de Randamie.

Holm’s rise in the rankings from number five to number two shows a lack of depth in the women’s bantamweight division, since she just knocked out the previous number 11 and has not been active in the weight class.

Check out the latest rankings report courtesy of the UFC:

With Rousey absent for what seems like will be forever and Nunes set to face a woman she barely beat at UFC 196 last year, there just isn’t much in terms of actual legitimate title contenders in the women’s bantamweight division, and we all know the mess that is the newly-instated featherweight division.

Consensus uncrowned champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino will face Invicta FC featherweight champion Megan Anderson for the now-vacant belt in the co-main event of July 29’s UFC 214, but after that, there aren’t any fighters, let alone serious threats to the belt, except for maybe Holm because she’s fought in the division before.

Women’s strawweight isn’t much better, with Joanna Jedrzejczyk looking like a dominant champion who has already beaten the next-best fighter, Claudia Gadelha, twice. Rose Namajunas is lined up as the next title contender, but most don’t give “Thug” much of a chance against arguably the top pound-for-pound female fighter in the sport.

But back to bantamweight.

It’s this lack of depth that has Holm on the cusp of a another title shot at both 135 and 145 pounds, a spot where she jumped over Raquel Pennington, Ronda Rousey and Julianna Peña. It makes sense to have Holm over Rousey, but Pennington beat Tate, the woman who took Holm’s belt, so why would Pennington be lower than Holm?

As far as Peña goes, she just lost to Shevchenko in January. Even though Holm has faced tougher competition overall, Peña’s last victory was against number 7-ranked Cat Zingano, and deserves to be higher than Holm.

Regardless, a possible stylistic match-up between Holm and Nunes would make for an excellent fight, and if Nunes can get past Shevchenko on UFC 213, Holm might challenge for the belt and return to her former glory once again. Much of that is due to her win over Rousey obviously, as she may still be the most recognized female fighter outside of “Rowdy” and Tate.

To her credit, she can devastatingly finish any fight with her vicious kicks. At times she’s been tentative and cautious in the octagon, however, making her an inconsistent would-be star who certainly has the potential to be one, and a flashy one at that.

That’s what the UFC’s new owners appear focused on in an effort to repay the monstrous $4.2 billion price tag, so Holm is benefitting from her considerable knockout ability – and also the lack of top contenders in the UFC’s female divisions right now.

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Germaine De Randamie ‘Had No Idea’ She Was Being Stripped Of Title

After she publicly refused to fight consensus top contender Crsitiane “Cyborg” Justino, there were rumors that the UFC would strip former women’s featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie of her title even though she only won it at February’s UFC 208. Today, the promotion did just that, stripping de Randamie of the gold and booking Cyborg […]

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Today, the promotion did just that, stripping de Randamie of the gold and booking Cyborg vs. Invicta 145-pound titleholder Megan Anderson for the main event of July 29’s suddenly stacked UFC 214 from Anaheim, California.

The move was expected in order to clear up the women’s featherweight landscape, which had no cohesion or direction after de Randamie won the belt in incredibly controversial fashion over Holm before essentially running from Cyborg and disappearing from the public eye. However, it apparently came as news to de Randamie, who told MMA Fighting that she found out she had been stripped when she saw Cyborg vs. Anderson was made official online:

“I had absolutely no idea that I was being stripped of the belt. I found out through social media. Cyborg (Justino) is going to fight Megan (Anderson) for the belt.

“Nobody ever told me anything about it.”

Yet the move was expected by the vast majority of the MMA world, and the UFC saw her refusal to fight Cyborg as a decision that obviously made her expendable. In a statement on UFC.com, the promotion explained their position, citing de Randamie’s refusal to fight the top contender as threatening to the ‘integrity of the sport’:

“UFC has informed Germaine de Randamie and her management team that she is being removed as the women’s featherweight champion due to her unwillingness to fight the No. 1 ranked contender, Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino. Subsequently, top contender Justino will face newly signed Invicta FC featherweight champion Megan Anderson for the UFC women’s featherweight title in the co-main event of UFC® 214: CORMIER vs. JONES 2, July 29 in Anaheim, Calif.

UFC maintains that any champion is expected to accept fights against the top contenders in their respective weight classes in order to maintain the integrity of the sport.”

While a simple structured system where the champions fight top contenders is exactly what countless fans have been clamoring for throughout the UFC’s rough start to 2017, in truth it’s clear to see that the UFC will make exceptions to this so-called effort to ‘maintain the integrity of the sport,’ as both Conor McGregor and Michael Bisping have been allowed to choose their opponents, for better or worse.

Those names are much bigger than de Randamie’s, of course, and with a massive loan being worked on by new UFC owner’s WME-IMG, “The Iron Lady” clearly wasn’t in a position to be calling her shots, especially when women’s featherweight was essentially created to showcase Cyborg’s dominance. De Randamie was only brought on a late replacement when Cyborg wasn’t able to fight Holm at UFC 208.

The division doesn’t really have any other fighters outside of Cyborg and Anderson right now, but with de Randamie refusing to fight Cyborg due to her questionable history with performance-enhancing drugs (and some would argue outright fear), the decision to strip her of the title because she wouldn’t fight the woman who most believe to the uncrowned champ was an easy one.

De Randamie wasn’t bringing in the bucks, and that’s what the UFC obviously cares about these days.

Just don’t say it was to simply uphold the “integrity of the sport.”

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UFC 212 Winner Claudia Gadelha Credits Change in Camp for Performance

Claudia Gadelha knew she needed to change something after a second decision loss to Joanna Jedrzejczyk last year. So the Brazilian moved herself to Jackson-Wink MMA in New Mexico ahead of UFC 212 and a co-main event fight with fellow top challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz. It worked, as Gadelha scored a quick finish over Kowalkiewicz and […]

Dana White Confirms Cris Cyborg Will Still Fight At UFC 214

Yesterday, news came that Invicta FC featherweight champion Megan Anderson would defend her title at July 15’s Invicta FC 24, closing the door on her rumored contest with dominant former Invicta champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino at July 29’s UFC 214 – at least for now. Cyborg is currently awaiting the results of the battery charge […]

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Yesterday, news came that Invicta FC featherweight champion Megan Anderson would defend her title at July 15’s Invicta FC 24, closing the door on her rumored contest with dominant former Invicta champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino at July 29’s UFC 214 – at least for now.

Cyborg is currently awaiting the results of the battery charge she was dealt for punching women’s strawweight Angela Magana at the UFC fighter retreat two weeks ago, something that could potentially delay her octagon return after UFC President Dana White called the charges a “very serious” matter. Today, White appeared on the UFC’s “Unfiltered” podcast to give his personal opinion on the messy situation:

“But here’s the thing; if you’re Cyborg, you go up and let her know how you feel. Say, ‘you said all this mean shit about me, here’s what I think about you.’ Boom, boom. You walk away. Or just stay away from her the whole retreat. Listen, I’m not sitting here like, ‘Mr. I take the high road,’ because I never take the fuckin’ high road, but listen, assault is, you can’t go and assault somebody. You can’t do it.”

White then shifted the topic of discussion to Cyborg’s highly-publicized desire to fight at UFC 214, insisting that even though it may not be against Anderson, the brutalizing female force would still fight at the card near her adopted American home in Anaheim, and it would still reportedly be in the main event after he insisted Jon Jones would not return to a main event:

“Cris Cyborg will fight in the main event, Cormier vs. Jon Jones. I’m working on it.”

With Anderson not an option and 145-pound women’s champ Germaine de Randamie clearly ducking Justino, a bout with former UFC women’s bantamweight title contender Cat Zingano has been discussed for Cyborg, even though she hasn’t been all that enthusiastic about it because Zingano hasn’t won a fight since 2014.

White revealed Zingano was very encouraged about the potential main event fight, but some lingering physical ailments unfortunately meant she won’t be ready by July 29:

“No, Cat Zingano wants to, and we were looking at Cat Zingano, but Cat’s not ready physically. She still has some, she’s been out for awhile because she has some physical issues she was dealing with; she’s not gonna be ready. Oh, she wants the Cyborg fight. She wants it fight. Oh yeah, Cat’s tough, she’s fighter, she’s gritty.”

So we have a sort of confirmation from White that the world’s most dominant female fighter will fight at UFC 214, but with the card already going down next month, it’s far from guaranteed we’ll see Justino in the main event. There simply aren’t many 145-pound or 135-pound women out there willing to take what most would perceive as a one-sided beatdown, even if it dos come with arguably the largest payday and media attention in women’s MMA right now.

But as always White is “working on it,” so fans will just have to wait and see what his efforts produce for the main event of UFC 214.

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Cris Cyborg Responds To Megan Anderson’s Invicta FC Booking

The last couple of weeks have featured perhaps the most media coverage of Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino’s decorated and controversial MMA career. The former Invicta FC featherweight champion was first littered throughout MMA headlines for her continued discontent with her employers at the UFC, whom she had continuously pleaded with for a title bout against current […]

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The last couple of weeks have featured perhaps the most media coverage of Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino’s decorated and controversial MMA career.

The former Invicta FC featherweight champion was first littered throughout MMA headlines for her continued discontent with her employers at the UFC, whom she had continuously pleaded with for a title bout against current Invicta champ Megan Anderson at July 29’s UFC 214 from Anaheim, California.

Then came the UFC fighter retreat and her highly publicized confrontation with women’s strawweight Angela Magana after “Her Majesty” repeatedly mocked her online, which ended with Cyborg charged with battery after she punched Magana and it was caught on video. With Dana White stating the UFC was looking into the “very serious” charges, Cyborg’s fighting future was more up in the air than it ever has been.

And today, we find out that, for whatever reason, Cyborg won’t be battling Anderson, at least not at UFC 214. News came from MMA Fighting that Anderson will take on Invicta newcomer Helena Kolesnyk in the main event of Invicta FC 24 on July 15 from the Scottish Rite Temple in Kansas City, Missouri. Kolesnyk is an unbeaten prospect with a 5-0 (1) record.

Cyborg reacted to the booking by wishing Anderson luck (via MMA Mania):

“I wish Megan good luck. The fact she is fighting an undefeated 5-0 fighter at 145 proves there are women I could have been fighting in the UFC at 145 pounds the entire time I’ve been signed to the promotion instead of undersized girls being forced up a weight class once they’ve suffered a few losses at 135.”

She may have a good point, but at this point it’s still uncertain when Cyborg will fight in the octagon next. The UFC is reportedly looking into her fighting former bantamweight title challenger Cat Zingano at some point this year, but nothing has been made official.

Overall, it’s a mild surprise to see Anderson, who won the Invicta 145-pound title by defeating Charmaine Tweet after Justino vacated it in March to continue pursuing UFC glory, as it appeared an obvious choice without a true top-level female featherweight to fight Cyborg, especially with current women’s featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie refusing to fight her as she ponders a return to bantamweight.

As we’ve seen with Cyborg, nothing ever appears easy in her quest to finally hold a UFC belt, and that picture just got a little cloudier today.

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Germaine De Randamie Says She’s Returning To Bantamweight Division

The MMA world has neither seen nor heard from UFC women’s featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie since she revealed she would need hand surgery immediately after her highly controversial championship win over Holly Holm in the main event of February’s UFC 208. Today (Mon. May 29, 2016), however, de Randamie has finally broken the silence […]

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Today (Mon. May 29, 2016), however, de Randamie has finally broken the silence about her unwillingness to fight Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino, the consensus top female featherweight in the world and the woman whom many feel is by far the most dominant force in all of women’s MMA. A fight with Cybrorg seems like a no-brainer for de Randamie, yet “The Iron Lady” revealed on her official Instagram account (via MMA Mania) that there were too many issues with drug testing to face Justino:

Dear All,

It’s been a while since I posted something. But because of the commotion that I have come to feel, I feel the need to hear something from me and to clear the air (as far as possible). It is absolutely not so that everything that is said makes me do nothing. Also, I am a human being and I also have feelings. Despite the fact that I’m always positive, the comments make me more than I had hoped. The positive but also the negative.

The fight between me and Chris Cyborg was offered to me last November. Even then, I had all my reservations but I accepted the fight. Chris Cyborg has rejected the fight because she could not get the weight of 66 kilos in twelve weeks time. One month later, she was visited by the USADA and did not pass the test. The rest of the story is known.

My reason for rejecting the fight now has nothing but nothing at all to do with my fear.

I believe that if you want to do sports you do this without any means that can affect the muscle mass. I – as a top athlete – always trained, always watched my food and put 18 years of my life on sports, without using just one means that is not allowed.

Everyone has his or her opinion on this and that may. But that people think to know what my motives are / do not put me in the cold clothes.

With that announcement, the already uncertain UFC women’s featherweight landscape, which was only just created this year when de Randamie fought Holm for the inaugural title, is even more uncertain, but de Randamie issued yet another post that made it even more so – if that’s even possible.

In the second, she teased that not only would she not fight Cyborg, but she was returning to her original division of women’s bantamweight after having her hand examined:

I work full time and irregularly, which takes a lot of time. In addition, there is still a lot of unclear about my hand. I have an appointment with the doctor on 14 June, and it will be decided whether or not to be operated. This option should also be considered for me because there is a great chance that my tendons / nerves can cause such damage that I could not use my hand more optimally.

During the negotiations on the battle with Holly Holm, I said in advance that after this fight I want to return to my natural weight class of 61 kilos. My task has not been completed yet

The UFC has promised me that this would be no problem and I can just return to my natural weight class.

This is why I am focusing on this moment.

When I fell in love with the martial arts 18 years ago, I had 1 goal. Share my great love with others who have the same love for martial arts as me !! This is my goal and will always remain my goal.

I want to thank everybody who has always stood before me and still support me through thick and thin !! You guys rock.

For all the haters; Two Baths !! “The IronLady” is far from done

So de Randamie is on the sidelines with her return more unclear than ever, and the 145-pound picture is only further clouded by the UFC’s decision to wait on the “Very serious” case of Cyborg punching strawweight Angela Magana at last weekend’s UFC fighter retreat.

If Justino is indeed cleared, she’s lobbied for a fight with Invicta FC featherweight champ Megan Anderson at UFC 214 near her adopted American home.

One thing is certain, however – she won’t be fighting the actual champion, who’s maintained quite possibly the strangest start to a title reign of any UFC champion in MMA history.

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