SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
September - 2015
33
next title shot, last week, it be-
came clear that Holm was be-
ing rushed to the slaughter as a
marketable name who is also a
world champion. That she was
champion in a regional MMA
promotion, and in women’s
professional boxing, matters
not: in the UFC’s marketing de-
partment, there’s little doubt
that plans are already being
drawn up to position this as a
champion vs. champion bout.
That would be fine if Holm was
a seasoned MMA fighter. She’s
not, however, and don’t let the
9-0 record fool you. While in
the realtively young world of
Women’s MMA, 9-0 may seem
like an impressive record (after
all, Rousey has only three more
professional fights and is sit-
ting at 12-0), the reality is that
quality of competition matters.
Holm’s record includes fight-
ers with professional records
including 1-1, 2-5, 4-2, 8-11,
6-8 — essentially, fighters with
little professional fight experi-
ence, losing records, and sev-
eral of whom are no longer ac-
tive today.
Now, we all have to start some-
where, and this isn’t to say that
Holm has been fighting cans.
In the UFC she holds victories
over Raquel Pennington and
Marion Reneau, and while Pen-
nington has struggled and sits
at just 5-5 as a pro, Reneau at
least had been on a very im-
pressive five fight win streak,
with two of those coming un-
der the UFC banner.
Yet Holm has fought tenta-
tively since joining the promo-
tion, fighting safe as opposed
to showing the killer finishing
instinct she displayed against
lesser foes, and that’s telling.
Perhaps it’s just erring on the
side of caution so as not to
kill her momentum and a po-
tential title shot; perhaps it’s a
sign that against stiffer compe-
tition, she needs more time to
develop.
The latter would not be a bad
idea. Time, however, is not on
Holm’s side. When injury struck
Robbie Lawler this week, it
was announced Holm would
face Rousey at UFC 193 in
November, rather than at UFC
195 early next year as origi-
nally planned. Which means
that she has even less time to
prepare — and will be fighting
outside of America for the first
time in her pro career. Not just
her MMA career, mind you. Her
career as a professional fighter.
And there’s another case of
too much, too fast, too soon.
The vast majority of Holm’s
pro boxing fights came in New
Mexico, where she now trains
at Jackson-Winklejohn af-
ter joining the team in 2007.
This isn’t an argument about
home cooking with judges or
anything of the sort, however.
When Holm switched to MMA,
she moved around the U.S. a
little, but thus far has not set
foot outside of it, and thus
has not had to deal with tiring
travel, time differences, and jet
lag. Those are serious concerns
for a fighter being granted an
early title shot against the best
in the world.
Already a step or three be-
hind Rousey, the deck is clearly
stacked against her: she hasn’t
had the proper development
time a blue chip prospect
should have. She hasn’t been
given adequate time to pre-
pare, and she’s simply not ready
to take on the greatest female
combat athlete the world has
ever seen.
Last week, the UFC’s Joe Rogan
made some similar comments,
saying he didn’t agree with the
fight, and that Amanda Nunes
was the better option, the bet-
ter fighter. He’s not wrong on
this one. Nunes, a third fight
with Tate, or the mythical
match-up with Cristiane “Cy-
borg” Justino would all be bet-
ter options at this point. Sadly,
the UFC took the easy route
with a marketable bout that
features a lesser fighter. Not a
bad fighter, mind you — just
one not ready for her title shot.
Too much, too fast, too soon.
This is a fight that should have
happened in late 2016/early
2017, not the end of this year.
As a result, the Rousey train will
roll onward, and fans will con-
tinue to wonder who if anyone
is ready to challenge her. In this
case, the UFC only has them-
selves to blame, as they’re em-
ploying short term thinking at
best.
