Ronda Rousey To Meet Holly Holm At UFC195 – Announces Bout On ‘Good Morning America’
Ronda Rousey has broken a few land speed records since she joined the UFC in 2012. In a short three years, she has successfully maintained her title several times over and ended all but one of her fights in the first round either by stoppage or submission. She has put in appearances in several movies, including Entourage and Fast and Furious 7. For many, that would be a satisfying chain of events, but Rousey did not stop there. Her autobiography, My Fight, Your Fight, made it on to the Los Angeles Times bestseller list for hardcover nonfiction, and Variety broke the news in July that Rousey herself would star in the film adaptation of said book. Now, Rousey is dropping into shows like Good Morning America – one of the top rated morning shows – to announce that she is meeting Holly Holm at UFC195.
Such an announcement was surprising for several reasons. First, it was widely anticipated that the UFC Women’s Bantamweight champ would take on Miesha Tate for a third time before she took anyone else on. Choosing Holm as a UFC195 co-headliner with Rousey was a bit of a shocker for many. Secondly, Rousey is one of the few fighters to announce a bout on a morning news show instead of through one of the many mixed martial arts programs out there. This is only a sign of just how far Rousey has come in such a relatively short time span.
Holly Holm is likely one of the few women out there who is a logical next opponent for Rousey, too. Holm is undefeated in her last two matches, though neither win was impressive. She is also a striker; she is a former world champion boxer and presents for Rousey a challenge unlike any she’s seen previously.
Rousey acknowledged that challenge in an interview shortly after the UFC195 headlining match was announced.
“She’s not the average chick that I would fight,” Rousey said. “She’s the best striker I’ve ever fought, and striking is something that I learned much later in my career.”
The Holm-Rousey match would be a bigger draw, most likely, than a third Tate-Rousey one. Tate has been beaten by Rousey twice previously, though Tate has the unique privilege of saying that she is the only fighter to date that has gotten beyond Round 1 with the champ. With Holm, Rousey has a challenger that is also a relative neophyte to the MMA world but one that will stretch her talents further as a fighter.
UFC195 should be an outstanding match on January 2, 2016 for all concerned. Not only will Rousey prove once again why she continues to dominate, Holm will offer Rousey the challenge she has been seeking for some time.
[Photo: Anthony Kwan/Getty Images Sport]
