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No Rematch For Holly Holm — And Ronda Rousey Could Be To Blame

By Toni Matthews
Published on: 02:35 PST, Apr 10, 2016

Rumors are flying about why obvious choice Holly Holm wasn’t granted a rematch against current UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate. While it’s not surprising that Tate would opt to fight again quickly rather than wait around for another Ronda Rousey rematch, the Amanda Nunes announcement did catch quite a few people by surprise.

What about Holly? Well, according to Fox Sports, a rematch for Holm was never on the table.

“Despite reports to the contrary that said Holm was offered as an opponent to Tate, she refutes those claims and says the only name the UFC gave her was Nunes. So that’s the one she accepted.”

This is a curious turn of events. Unlike Rousey, whose first and only loss in the UFC sent her on hiatus, one would assume that Holm would be more than happy to take a “do-over.” The decision by UFC bosses to pass on the same woman who shocked the world by knocking out Ronda Rousey has MMA fans questioning the fairness and sensibility of the UFC’s decision-making process.

All roads seem to lead back to Rousey, with some speculating that this is either outright revenge for Holm daring to defeat Ronda or, at the very least, for failing to hold out for an immediate rematch.

The New York Post has outright stated that Holm’s situation represents a “steep price” paid for standing up to her UFC bosses.

“After upsetting Rousey, Holm and Fresquez pushed for the fight with Tate after White had publicly declared that Holm’s first title defense would be against Rousey. After Holm was upset by Tate, White blamed Fresquez for derailing his fighter’s career.“

By losing to Tate, Holm could have inadvertently sabotaged her own UFC career. As long as she remained the women’s bantamweight champion, she had all the bargaining power — even if her bosses didn’t agree with her decisions. However, despite being a former champion, Holm’s marked as the woman who halted “the money and hype train” with that kick to the neck of Ronda Rousey.

Such resentment could keep her from not only getting a rematch against Tate, but even a rematch against Rousey, should the latter woman regain the division title.

Still, could is not the same as definite. One thing that Holm has in her favor is that she happens to be the first and only woman to utterly dominate and defeat Ronda Rousey. Rousey could return in the fall and devastate whichever woman is the champion. She could then go on to rack up a slew of victories and re-establish herself as the dominant force in women’s MMA.

Whatever is said about Ronda Rousey at that point will have an asterisk beside it — and that asterisk will be Holly Holm. As previously stated, a loss to Miesha Tate doesn’t prove her win over Ronda Rousey was a fluke. Remember, the same woman who choked out Holm was herself beaten by Rousey twice.

Eventually, the Holly Holm question will have to be settled by Ronda Rousey. No amount of Dana White hype or excuse-making is going to erase the memory of that knockout kick from everyone’s minds. Should that day come, however long the UFC lets Holm stew, she’ll be the one holding the cards.

Should Holly Holm manage to beat Ronda Rousey again, one can only imagine how power she’d wield. Of course, if Holly were to lose, she’d probably have to leave the UFC — there’s a good chance she’d never again receive any significant fight opportunities on Dana White’s watch.

Do you think Holly Holm is being punished for refusing to wait for a Ronda Rousey rematch? Will she ever be given another title shot? Share your thoughts below!

[Photo by Quinn Rooney/Justin Edmonds/Getty Images]

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