Why Holly Holm was right in refusing to wait for Ronda Rousey rematch

Holly Holm has been inundated with criticism from all corners. UFC president Dana White went out of his way to call her manager, Lenny Fresquez, “a moron” and said Holm cost herself millions of dollars by not waiting for a rematch with Ronda Rousey.

Nine months ago, Holm decimated Rousey in a stunning turn of events at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia, winning the women’s bantamweight title with one of the most stunning upsets in MMA history. It was no contest from start to finish as Holm, who was such a large underdog when the fight was announced that some sports books didn’t put a line up on it. Those that did had Rousey as high as an 18-1 favorite.

The soft-spoken Holm spent much of the fight’s build-up discussing Rousey’s dominance. She’s no trash talker, but she quietly asserted her belief in herself whenever given the opportunity.

Looking back on the experience, she chuckles slightly.

“You know, there was so much hype around Ronda, the question that most people were asking wasn’t if I could win but if I’d be able to last longer than all these other girls had,” Holm said.

It was a good question. Rousey’s three fights prior to facing Holm had lasted 16, 14 and 34 seconds.

Holm, of course, rewrote history by dominating Rousey. She hit her with a left hand 30 seconds into the fight that seemed to put Rousey out on her feet. Holm continually picked her apart and finished the fight early in the second round with the most famous kick to the head in fight game history.

But Holm lost the title in her first defense after she chose not to wait for Rousey to return. Instead, she did what champions should always do: She defended against the best available contender.

That was Miesha Tate, and Tate herself scored a dramatic final-second victory against Holm as time wound down in Round 5 at UFC 196 in March.

Holm is set for her return on Saturday at the United Center in Chicago when she meets Valentina Shevchenko in what should be an entertaining striking battle with two very undeniable truths:

First, despite four champions in nine months, the division is still very much controlled by Rousey, who hasn’t been in the Octagon since losing to Holm and has largely avoided speaking to the media since that night.

And second, Holm made the right choice to defend against Tate, on multiple levels.

“I was pretty clear about what I said from the minute the rematch was brought up to me,” Holm said. “I wanted to give Ronda the rematch. Of course she deserved that after all she’d done. I agree. But the issue for me was timing. I didn’t want to take the belt home and then sit on it. That’s not how I see a champion. I was willing to wait for Ronda to come back.

“If I would have waited for Ronda, I’d still be waiting. I don’t regret [agreeing to fight Tate]. I regret making mistakes that cost me. I regret that, but I don’t regret taking the fight. I wanted to be a fighting champion and if I get the belt back, I will want to be a fighting champion again. That’s the way it works, to me.”

It’s one thing if Holm had agreed to fight Tate in March knowing Rousey planned to fight in, say, May. But given that it was obvious in early 2016 that it would be a while before Rousey got back into the Octagon, the criticism of her seemed out of place.

She was classy prior to the fight when scores of fans and reporters suggested to her face that she had no chance against Rousey. And she was classy in victory, praising the former champion and agreeing to give Rousey a rematch whenever Rousey was ready.

After such a physical beating, as well as a long stretch that took a toll on her mentally, Rousey made a wise choice in asking White for a lengthy break. But that break has been extended by surgery on her knee and a hip injury that White spoke about briefly in the aftermath of UFC 200 earlier this month.

White says he’s still isn’t sure when Rousey will return, and concedes there is a chance she won’t fight again until 2017.

White has said that when Rousey returns, she’ll get an immediate title shot.

Holm sighed when asked about a rematch against Rousey. Amanda Nunes won the belt from Tate at UFC 200 with an extraordinary performance, and could well make her first defense against Rousey.

Holm, who was cageside for the Tate-Nunes fight at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, doesn’t like the speculation game.

“The thing about fighting is, no other fight matters other than the one you have in front of you,” Holm said. “Valentina is a very tough opponent. She’s coming off a fight against the girl who is now the champion, and if that had been a five-round fight instead of a three-rounder, who knows, she may have won it. Amanda won the first two rounds, but Valentina won the third and was in control of that fight.

“It would be a mistake for me to think of another fight when I have someone like Valentina in front of me who is so good and so dangerous.”

Her win over Rousey made her somewhat of a mythical figure in MMA history, and no matter what she does in the rest of her career, she’ll always be the one who slayed the dragon, who beat the seemingly invincible foe.

And while the easy choice might have been to go onto the victory tour and enjoy the fruits of her greatest win, Holm did the admirable thing and gave another person a shot at the title.

That’s what fans expect from the best, to be willing to fight anywhere at any time against anyone.

Rousey wasn’t ready, so Holm went down the list to the next biggest threat.

It didn’t work out for her, but that doesn’t mean her decision to defend the title and not wait for Rousey was wrong.

I, for one, will take a fighting champion every day of the week.