The UFC has finally announced that Holly Holm’s next opponent will NOT be Ronda Rousey! The pair are set to rematch at UFC 200, which will be one of the biggest rematches in MMA history after Holm created quite the upset in not only beating Rousey, but utterly dismantling her.
But who will be Holme’s next opponent? Meisha Tate would be the obvious choice given that she is the second contender behind Rousey. Holm herself suggested that this would be a good match up, however other contenders cannot be ignored as possible opponents for Holm. Amanda Nunez has won four of her five UFC fights, only losing out to Cat Zingano (by KO/TKO). Zingano herself is the third contender and although losing to Rousey in just 14 seconds, has proven to be an effective fighter with 9 wins and just 1 loss.
There has also been mounting interest within the press about a possible Holm vs Cris “Cyborg” Justino. Rousey had refused to fight Cyborg, stating cyborgs failed drugs test as her reasoning, however did state that if Cyborg was able to cut her weight down from Invicta’s 145lb category to the UFC’s bantamweight category of 135lbs she would fight her, a feat which Cyborg was never able to achieve.
When asked, Holm admitted that she was interested in the fight. Her trainer stated that she had never backed out of a fight and implied that she wouldn’t do so should the match-up be offered. The real question is, can Cris Cyborg shed the necessary weight? Personally I don’t think Cyborg will ever make it to the UFC, but I would love to see this match up!
At this point, Meisha Tate seems to be the most likely match up, but as she could never beat Rousey, does she have a hope against Holm? It could be an interesting matchup. All that can be said at this point is that Rousey’s defeat has made the category a whole lot more interesting. I’m looking forward to seeing what 2016 holds for the women’s bantamweight category and more importantly for new champion Holly Holm.
my ignorant opinion 