Future
“Life is never fair, and perhaps it is a good thing for most of us that it is not.”
-Oscar Wilde
Holly Holm vs Raquel Pennington was the co-headliner fight for UFC 184. The open secret is many are expecting Holm, former World Boxing Champion to be the next contender to Rousey should Zingano fail. Holm said very recently before her debut UFC fight that she believes Women’s MMA ‘would benefit greatly’ if the Number 1 (Rousey) lost.
While Holm scrapped by a win, the split decision was not convincing and could have easily swung the other way. Raquel Pennington have gone home not only unhappy with her loss but who she had lost to. Pennington does not believe Holm had earned her status as a title contender and is a long way off to become even a remote threat to Rousey.
Pennington may be right. Holm’s performance in UFC 184 is lacklustre at best plus given her age of 33 by the time she acquire sufficient experience and wins to contest Rousey, Holms might already be on the way to retirement. The world had looked to Holm only because fans of the sport needed someone to look at to possibly topple the unbreakable one. Dana White joked that should Rousey defeat Zingano in UFC 184 they may have to match a man against Ronda.
In the press conference post UFC 184, Dana White was asked repeatedly of ‘deals’ with Rousey to fight the Brazilian featherweight Cyborg Cristiane Justino. Dana White only said that Rousey will fight Cyborg any day as long as the latter makes the weight of 135 pounds. That would remain the last possibility of anyone defeating Rousey who looked like she is already rightfully so on her exit strategy of a sport that is known for its lack of longevity.
