Holly Holm may have shaken up the UFC last November when she beat the seemingly unbeatable Ronda Rousey, but her next move was to fight Miesha Tate, and it didn’t end well . Now, UFC President Dana White says he doesn’t think Holm even realizes how big her career could have been after her win over Rousey because she’s spent too much time listening to the people around her.
Tate will reportedly move on from her big win to fight Rousey for a third time — after losing twice to the former champ — at some point, but it’s unclear where Holly will go from here. Dana White said in a recent interview that Holm’s manager, Lenny Fresquez, is too “old school” to adequately prepare Holly.
“The sad part about that is, listen, he’s an old boxing guy who thinks he’s smart, and he’s not. It’s one of those things. I feel bad about it. I feel bad for Holly. I don’t know if Holly really knows what she lost. I think she has so much faith in the people that surround her, she feels like, ‘Well, they got me this far,’” White told Russillo & Kanell . “We had this meeting, and Holly wasn’t even in it. Holly, that’s your life. You should be in that meeting. Don’t leave it to these people. Anyway, Holly made a lot of money. She accomplished great things, she beat Ronda Rousey. But it could have been so much bigger for her, and the sad part is, I don’t think she even knows it.”
Because Holly is technically a rookie in the world of MMA–having a background in boxing–many fans aren’t worried about her career or the path she’s taking. That includes Jon Jones, one of her mentors, who says he truly believes we haven’t even seen what she can do yet.
“I’m not worried about Holly too much. I know for a fact that her best is yet to come. It really is. She will hold the belt again,” Jones told FOX Sports after UFC 196 ended. “No doubt in my mind,” Jones said after Holm’s loss to Miesha Tate. “Just wait till she gets the game down. She’s going to be scary. It would be great for Ronda and for Miesha Tate for Holly to go and crawl up and feel as if her dreams were crushed tonight, but literally they know that was one of the worst things that could have happened to them. Holly’s going to come back with some serious vengeance.”
As for Ronda Rousey, it will likely be a while before she’s ready to get back in the ring. The former champ took her loss to Holm pretty hard last year and laid low for a while in order to heal up and figure out her next move.
“It might be three to six months before I can eat an apple,” she told ESPN, “let alone take an impact,” Rousey said.
Rousey told Ellen DeGeneres earlier this year that right after the fight, she had suicidal thoughts because she felt like she didn’t know her worth if she couldn’t be the best at MMA.
“I was literally sitting there and thinking about killing myself and that exact second I’m like, ‘I’m nothing, what do I do anymore, and no one gives a s–t about me anymore without this,’” Ronda told Ellen.
Rousey said that thoughts of her boyfriend–and their future together–were what got her through those dark hours. However, she’s busy working on her film career at the moment, so it’s unclear when she’ll be ready to take on Miesha.
Holly Holm shared a photo of Miesha Tate choking her out on Instagram, saying that it’s not the end for her and she will keep pushing, training, and fighting hard to show her fans what she’s capable of.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BCq4d45p0K6/?taken-by=hollyholm&hl=en
Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images
