Amid Holly Holm’s “we’ll-see-what-happens” attitude in the lead-up to her UFC 225 meeting with Megan Anderson, one thing was clear: The former women’s bantamweight champion still had sights on re-claiming the belt of a division that felt like “a little more my home.”
On Saturday at Chicago’s United Center, Holm (12-4 MMA, 5-4 UFC) took no notice of Anderson’s (8-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) notable size advantage and put on a dominant display en route to a unanimous-decision win. While that meant a first featherweight win for Holm – after two failed bids for the 145-pound title – it was the bantamweight division that came calling when its current champ Amanda Nunes (16-4 MMA, 9-1 UFC), issued a straightforward “let’s do it” after UFC 225.
Even the women’s featherweight champ, whom Holm met – and lost to – once, Cris Cyborg, encouraged the matchup (albeit with a follow-up suggestion of her own). Between that, and Holm’s previously stated desire, it would appear that’s pretty much a done deal, right?
Anything you lose, you want back, right?” Holm said after the pay-per-view main-card fight, when asked by MMAjunkie if a bantamweight title fight is next. “That’s something that’s dear to you. I think that’s probably closest to my heart, but I want it all. I don’t think that you’d even get in this game if you don’t want it all. I want it all. I want victories. I want belts.
Chicago, Holm said, is a “home away from home” for her and, right now, the only plan she has is enjoying it with the friends and family who were there to support her. Now, recovered from a UFC 219 loss to Cyborg, she just wants to take her big win in.
Although up-and-coming contender Ketlen Vieira probably wouldn’t be too happy to hear about it, a meeting between Holm and Nunes isn’t a crazy idea. Sure, Holm didn’t have the brightest of stretches after claiming the 135-pound belt, with four losses in six fights, but it’s important to note that the two most recent defeats were at featherweight. Her most recent bantamweight outing ended in a knockout win over former title challenger Bethe Correia.
Another factor that could sweeten the pot for the fans here is the fact that this would be a fresh matchup. While the two have quite a few opponents in common, from most recent title challenge Raquel Pennington to former champions Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate, Nunes and Holm have never before fought.
Every fighter can be beat,” Holm said. “And that’s how I feel. She is very tough, and she’s proven that. She’s run through some girls. She was very dominant in her last performance with a very game – Raquel is a very game fighter. She’s usually a little scrapper. It’s definitely a tough fight, but what am I here for? I don’t want to take the easy route and then at the end of my career think I wish I would have pushed myself a little more.”
This mentality seems to have helped with Anderson, too. Faced with a lengthy striker in the former Invicta FC champion, Holm was smart, showing off both her physical prowess in the handling of a clearly bigger opponent and an on-point wrestling game that annulled whatever offense the Australian UFC debutante had in store.
Despite Holm’s experience, there were questions if Anderson’s power and size would end up just being too much to handle. Clearly, it wasn’t. And, for Holm, a lot of it came down to just making sure that the very awareness didn’t overwhelm her.
On Saturday at Chicago’s United Center, Holm (12-4 MMA, 5-4 UFC) took no notice of Anderson’s (8-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) notable size advantage and put on a dominant display en route to a unanimous-decision win. While that meant a first featherweight win for Holm – after two failed bids for the 145-pound title – it was the bantamweight division that came calling when its current champ Amanda Nunes (16-4 MMA, 9-1 UFC), issued a straightforward “let’s do it” after UFC 225.
Even the women’s featherweight champ, whom Holm met – and lost to – once, Cris Cyborg, encouraged the matchup (albeit with a follow-up suggestion of her own). Between that, and Holm’s previously stated desire, it would appear that’s pretty much a done deal, right?
Anything you lose, you want back, right?” Holm said after the pay-per-view main-card fight, when asked by MMAjunkie if a bantamweight title fight is next. “That’s something that’s dear to you. I think that’s probably closest to my heart, but I want it all. I don’t think that you’d even get in this game if you don’t want it all. I want it all. I want victories. I want belts.
Although up-and-coming contender Ketlen Vieira probably wouldn’t be too happy to hear about it, a meeting between Holm and Nunes isn’t a crazy idea. Sure, Holm didn’t have the brightest of stretches after claiming the 135-pound belt, with four losses in six fights, but it’s important to note that the two most recent defeats were at featherweight. Her most recent bantamweight outing ended in a knockout win over former title challenger Bethe Correia.
Another factor that could sweeten the pot for the fans here is the fact that this would be a fresh matchup. While the two have quite a few opponents in common, from most recent title challenge Raquel Pennington to former champions Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate, Nunes and Holm have never before fought.
Every fighter can be beat,” Holm said. “And that’s how I feel. She is very tough, and she’s proven that. She’s run through some girls. She was very dominant in her last performance with a very game – Raquel is a very game fighter. She’s usually a little scrapper. It’s definitely a tough fight, but what am I here for? I don’t want to take the easy route and then at the end of my career think I wish I would have pushed myself a little more.”
This mentality seems to have helped with Anderson, too. Faced with a lengthy striker in the former Invicta FC champion, Holm was smart, showing off both her physical prowess in the handling of a clearly bigger opponent and an on-point wrestling game that annulled whatever offense the Australian UFC debutante had in store.
Despite Holm’s experience, there were questions if Anderson’s power and size would end up just being too much to handle. Clearly, it wasn’t. And, for Holm, a lot of it came down to just making sure that the very awareness didn’t overwhelm her.
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