Holly Holm is expecting a rematch with Ronda Rousey after dethroning the long-reigning Champ on Saturday at UFC 193.
In an interview with the LA Times, Holm said she’s ready to fight whenever the UFC wants her to fight, and if that’s Rousey at UFC 200, she’s happy to go along with the plan.
“I want to fight when they give me the opportunity,” Holm said. “I’ve never once said I want to fight this date against this person. I’ve always wanted to be the champion. My mental game is the best when I just take the opportunity when it comes, so whatever opportunity they give me is what I’ll want to take.”
As to the fight itself, given her own experience in defeat, she’s expecting a different fight, and expects just as tough a challenge, if not more of one, than she had in front of her the first time around.
“There’s always a good confidence knowing you did it once,” Holm said. “A rematch is different. I had a brutal knockout [loss in a 2011 boxing match] and wanted that rematch so bad, and I avenged my loss.
“So going into a rematch, there’s a confidence for the winner of the first fight, but the other is coming with a whole different heart and a whole different mind-set. It’s a scarier fight. I’d train as hard [if] not harder.”
Penick’s Analysis: Given these comments, if the UFC wants to hold her out for a rematch at UFC 200, she seems more than willing to wait for that bout. That’s going to be a fantastically interesting story into what could be the biggest event for the UFC ever. Holm’s win was so shocking and unexpected, and the finish so brutal, that Rousey’s going to need to make some changes in order to have a different outcome in the rematch. Now, Holm came back strong after a significant setback, and Rousey may do the same, that’s what makes sports so fascinating to begin with. We’ll find out in July.
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