Holly Holm’s epic win over Ronda Rousey last UFC 193 has been all over the news recently; but it still remains to be seen what would be the next events for the new women’s MMA bantamweight champion.
While a lot of fans are starting to create their own must-see matchups now that Rousey has faced her first ever loss, another MMA UFC titleholder, Demetrious Johnson, recently revealed what he wanted the next matchups to be like.
“In my personal opinion, I’d like to see Ronda Rousey fight maybe Amanda Nunes. I mean, everybody is trying to make the big money, but as a martial artist, I’d like to see her fight Amanda Nunes. And I don’t want to see Holly on ice. I want see Holly fight maybe Miesha Tate. Yeah, Miesha Tate would be good. That way things keep going. You don’t have to put things on hold. Holly Holm is a hot commodity right now. Let’s keep it rolling. I think she would like to get a fight in there, too. But, then again, everybody is all about the money, so we’ll see what happens,” UFC flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson said during a recent interview with MMAjunkie.
The reason behind this is fairly simple according to Johnson. Of course, the UFC can definitely cash in on an immediate rematch between Holm, now holding a record of 10-0 MMA and 3-0 UFC, and Rousey, now with a record of 12-1 MMA and 6-1 UFC. However, Johnson believes that the former bantamweight champion’s current game plan is not suited for one more bout with Holm. A good example of what could go wrong in this kind of situation would be a recent event in the men’s bantamweight division.
“Holly Holm has been fighting like that her whole entire life. Ronda has basically been doing movies and doing other stuff. It’s like the T.J. Dillashaw and Renan Barao thing. Renan Barao fights like that, and he’s been successful fighting guys like that until he met someone who has footwork, who’s faster, who’s as athletic as him. That’s what Ronda Rousey ran into when she fought Holly Holm. She’s athletic, she has great footwork. In order to develop footwork like that, you can’t take six months off to try to develop footwork. Holly Holm has been fighting like that her whole entire life,” Johnson said.
Johnson, on the other hand, admitted that he has no preference when it comes to his opponents.
“I’m a date person. I don’t care who I’m going to fight. I ask Sean Shelby, Joe Silva, Dana White, ‘What day am I going to be fighting?’ Because at the end of the day they could be like, ‘Hey, Henry Cejudo, you’re next in line for the title shot.’ They’ll pass up on him and give it to somebody else. They did it to Miesha Tate. Dana White said to her face, ‘You’re next in line, Miesha. Holly Holm, hey, how you doing girl? Yeah, you’re going to fight.’ So I never get focused on who they say I’m going to fight next. I wait until I get my contract in my hand, see the date, then I plan for that date. Then whoever is across from me, I go to work,” he revealed.
