Dethroned woman’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is currently the betting favorite to win back the title if her rematch with Holly Holm does take place next year, but some experts are already questioning ‘Rowdy’s’ chances of success at the second attempt.
Such was the definitive nature of the beating Holm put on Rousey and the holes in her striking game that became painfully apparent in that six minute fight on Saturday night at UFC 193 that current light-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and former lightweight title contender Kenny Florian have voiced their belief that it’d be a mistake for her to head straight back into a rematch.
“I think she did get exposed tonight,” was Cormier’s assessment post-fight on Saturday night. “She has some holes. She’s been so dominant in the past, but that didn’t work tonight. She has work to do. I don’t think we need an immediate rematch. The things she needs to fix will take a little time.”
Meanwhile, Florian appears to be even more adamant that there were enough red flags in Rousey’s performance to suggest that a rematch with Holm at this stage would be a recipe for disaster.
“I think it would be a very bad mistake to give Ronda Rousey an immediate rematch with Holly Holm,” Florian stated on ‘The Florian & Anik Podcast’ yesterday. “I’m telling you now, I don’t think she’s ready. I think she needs to revamp her footwork, revamp her striking and know how to face a southpaw like Holly Holm. If she goes in there and loses for a second time the UFC will lose their biggest star.”
One things for sure though, while Rousey’s stock has clearly dropped after the events of this past weekend, everyone’s still talking about her and that means that if a rematch with Holm does eventually get booked then the level of interest in the outcome is once again going to be off the charts.
