Holly Holm says she remains ready and willing to run it back with Ronda Rousey, even after Rousey’s recent comeback was framed as a one-off return.
Rousey came back from an almost 10-year layoff less than two weeks ago, submitting Gina Carano in just 17 seconds in the MVP MMA 1 main event. Despite that emphatic win, Rousey has indicated she is not focused on a rematch with Holm.
"I've always been open to a rematch with her since the day the fight was over," Holm said, reflecting on their first meeting, when she became the first fighter to defeat Rousey and claimed the women’s bantamweight title by knockout at UFC 193.
Holm explained that she never wanted to put her career on hold waiting for an answer. "So if she wants to rematch, I'm game anytime. I've always said I'm good with a rematch. Right after the fight, it was, 'Hey, do you want to wait for the fight with Ronda?' I said, ‘Well, sure, how long are we going to wait?' There was no answer because we had no answer from her. She didn't say yes. She just, nothing."
Holm ultimately chose to stay active while Rousey later fought Amanda Nunes and then stepped away again. "But I've always said I would rematch her, and I still would to this day," Holm said.
Rousey, for her part, acknowledged the possibility but downplayed the priority. "I think I definitely have the ability and the opportunity to be able to clean her clock and re-write all of that," Rousey said. "But it's no longer important to me anymore. It doesn't haunt me. It's not the most important thing in my life."
