Holly Holm is still willing to make the Ronda Rousey rematch happen – in MMA or boxing.
Holm (15-7 MMA, 8-7 UFC) handed Rousey her first-career loss with a stunning head-kick knockout to claim the bantamweight title at UFC 193 in 2015. The promotion wanted the pair to run things back, but with Rousey wanting time off and Holm wanting to remain active, it never came to be.
Holm opted to defend her title against Miesha Tate at UFC 196 and wound up on the receiving end of a stunning upset loss herself. It took Rousey (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) a year to return to MMA, and she was quickly knocked out by Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 and hasn’t competed in the octagon since.
Now that Rousey has been seen training and linked to a boxing match with Katie Taylor, as well as an MMA fight against Gina Carano, Holm wants in on the possible action. The 44-year-old parted ways with the UFC in 2024 but has since returned to the ring.
“I’ve always been open to a rematch with her. I still am,” Holm said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “She’s been training. I have always been open to a rematch with Ronda. I just don’t know if she ever wanted to have one. Not spitting out negativity with Dana (White), the UFC, nothing.
“Miesha Tate and I on the co-main with Conor (McGregor), that was a big fight. The only thing I regret about that is that I lost focus and lost the fight in the last round, but I’ve always been open to a rematch with Ronda, and the offer still stands. I’m still here.”
Holm isn’t sure if the videos of Rousey training necessarily mean a comeback will happen, but she would support her decision if it was.
“I don’t know if she does (want to come back),” Holm said. “I mean, here’s the thing about any athlete: She’s been an Olympian, she’s been a champion, and you don’t get to that point without having that fight in you. So, you can’t ever count anybody out. Maybe she does. I would have never thought it or seen it. She’s got a family. Nothing wrong with that. Maybe she’s just enjoying her life that way. Maybe she’s loving being able to get back into training and things like that.
“Maybe she’s like, ‘You know what? I really miss this. I want try it.’ I left boxing, and when I did MMA full time, I thought I’d never go back to boxing, and here I am back in boxing because I started to miss it. So, if she actually wanted to – I don’t think it, but I mean, I don’t see. I also don’t count it out. Any athlete that’s been fighting or at the top level, they got there because they had passion, not just by chance. So, if she feels that and wants to come back and do something, great.”
