It’s hard to find anyone in women’s UFC these days who can challenge Ronda Rousey.
But Dana White and Co. could have done better than Holly Holm.
That, in essence, was the message of UFC commentator Joe Rogan when asked about Rousey’s recent announcement she’ll fight Holm at UFC 195 to defend her UFC women’s bantamweight title. Rousey insists Holm, once a highly successful professional boxer, will be her “biggest challenge to date,” but Rogan would have gone with someone else.
“I don’t agree with that fight,” Rogan said Sunday on his podcast, via MMAFighting.com. “That Holly Holm fight. I don’t think that’s smart. I would have gone with Amanda Nunes before Holly Holm.
“Amanda Nunes looked like a badass when she knocked out Sara McMann. That’s a more dangerous fighter. A more marketable fighter. (Holm) is only the best boxer in the world if Ann Wolf decides not to box.”
Nunes currently is No. 4 in the UFC women’s bantamweight rankings after defeating McMann in a first-round submission at UFC Fight Night Nashville. At the end of the day, though, Rogan admitted neither Holm nor Nunes likely would be able to close the vast gulf between Rousey and everyone else.
“Yeah, I don’t know,” Rogan said. “The Holly Holm fight is not as intriguing to me as Amanda Nunes would be. (Holm’s) big issue is the grappling. Who knows, though? You never know. Maybe Holly, because her standup is so much more refined, she’s been doing it for so much longer, maybe she can keep Ronda away from her. I’m serious.
“I just think, honestly, the real problem is that there’s a lack of talent.”
Rousey has destroyed all comers to date, and all signs indicate that isn’t about to change soon.
Thumbnail photo via Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports Images
