Earlier this week, UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey made her latest fight announcement live on Good Morning America. Apart from the sheer magnitude of having a announcement on a mainstream broadcast, fans were baffled to find out that Rousey’s next match-up wouldn’t be against her arch nemesis Miesha Tate, but against boxing champion Holly Holm.
However, while Rouey vs. Holm is certainly the fresher challenge, it is one that fans and pundits are not certain was timed correctly. Even UFC color commentator Joe Rogan expressed concern with the fight booking during his Fight Companion podcast on Sunday evening.
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“I don’t agree with that fight,” Rogan said. “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.”
“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.”
Instead of pointing the finger at the UFC for their matchmaking decisions, Rogan blamed the lack of talent in the women’s division for the Rousey dilemma.
“I think Amanda Nunes has real potential. If you look at Claudia Gadelha, she’s world-class. Joanna Jedrzejczyk, world-class. There’s a few. Cris Cyborg, steroids or no steroids, take away the controversy, go by her performances, ferocious. That’s four. There’s four of them.”
Transcription taken from MMAFighting.com.
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