Ever since Holly Holm defeated the heavy favorite Ronda Rousey in UFC 193, all of the big female fighters have expressed their desire to face off with the Albuquerque-born fighter.
Cristiane “Cris Cyborg” Justino is no different – late last year, she told TMZ that she now has her sights set on Holly Holm. Cyborg had previously been clamoring for a fight with Ronda Rousey, an opportunity that the latter passed up on.
Cris Cyborg no longer interested in bantamweight, invites Holly Holm to go up for… https://t.co/WRBIfXyi1M pic.twitter.com/HH7IfMrZKl
— Fighter Code (@FighterCode) January 17, 2016
Cyborg, who is Invicta FC’s reigning 145-pound featherweight champion, claimed that she was open to going down to 135 or 140 pounds just to fight the 29-year-old judoka. Rousey, on the other hand, argued that she should not have to move up to a higher weight class to fight Cyborg.
While it is no secret that Ronda Rousey has been the poster girl for the UFC during her lengthy reign as champion, the organization is no longer certain if Rousey is ready to face Holly Holm for a rematch at UFC 196.
But Holly Holm has been vocal about wanting to defend her title soon, as opposed to waiting for Rousey to recover. As a result, her camp and the UFC have agreed to arrange her first title defense match against Miesha Tate at UFC 196 on March 5th.
UFC 196 Title Fight Holly Holm vs Miesha Tate Will Deliver!! “Come Get Some!!!” pic.twitter.com/Vk8ncTTOLS
— MMA FIGHT FANS (@MMAfightfans) February 24, 2016
UFC fans still look forward to a Rousey-Holm rematch, but Holm’s manager, Lenny Fresquez is not too optimistic that it will ever take place. As a result, he proposed a match between his fighter and Cris Cyborg instead.
“That’s why I offered the [Cyborg] fight at 140,” said Fresquez to the Los Angeles Times. “We’d take that fight if Ronda needs more time to make up her mind.”
Unlike Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm is cool fighting Cris Cyborg at ‘whatever’ weight https://t.co/FUs8KpRAxV pic.twitter.com/4tI0Vy1aoZ
— UPROXX Sports (@UPROXXSports) December 28, 2015
But since the UFC does not have a 145-pound women’s division, Cris Cyborg will have to pull down her weight to 135 or 140. UFC president Dana White has already refused to create a new division just for Cyborg’s natural weight class, so Cyborg will have to make adjustments if she wants a fight with Holly Holm to happen.
Holly Holm was also asked to comment on Ronda Rousey’s recent statement that she is “still undefeated” despite her devastating loss to Holm in UFC 193. In the video, Holm gave Rousey the benefit of the doubt and said that “maybe that’s something that’s coming out of her mouth that doesn’t really want to fully take in everything.”