Holly Holm would be more than happy to rematch former foes Amanda Nunes or Ronda Rousey, but her main goal is to regain the UFC women’s bantamweight title.
Speaking to the press during media day ahead of her upcoming bout, Holm didn’t seem overly excited by the prospect of facing Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC Vegas 77, but the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion knows that bigger things await if she picks up the win on Saturday night.
Holm has been given a tricky assignment at the UFC Apex, where she’ll take on the division’s No. 10-ranked bantamweight contender Silva in the main event. For a fighter ranked third, that means Holm is fighting a significant way down the rankings list. On the face of it, there isn’t a huge amount to be gained from the bout, but "The Preacher’s Daughter" was all business when discussing her situation during her media day session in Las Vegas.
"That's just the fight they offered me, so that's what I took," she admitted.
"If they offer you a fight and you don’t take it then, you know, you can be sat down for a while. So, it is a big risk to take a fight with a lower-ranked fighter because, at this point, anybody in the top 10 is really tough.
"So I have everything to lose, she has everything to gain – there’s a lot of pressure on that. But I think the champion should be able to walk in and take care of it, one way or the other."
Silva heads into the bout having won her last three bouts, with her two most recent outings ending with a submission finish. Holm said she’s well aware of the Brazilian’s skillset and admits that she’ll be stepping into the Octagon with a dangerous opponent on Saturday night.
"I think she's tough," she explained.
"She's a scrapper, she'll go in and she's not afraid to throw combos on her feet, she's definitely seasoned with her jiu-jitsu. So she presents a threat in multiple ways. I don’t overlook her, at all."
Holm’s goal is to position herself to fight for the bantamweight title that was recently vacated by the retiring Amanda Nunes. A rematch with the Brazilian would have given Holm the chance to avenge her defeat to "The Lioness" back in 2019 at UFC 239, but despite missing out on the opportunity to run it back with her old foe, Holm took the opportunity to pay tribute to Nunes’ career.
"I wish Amanda nothing but the best in her retirement," she said.
"She's a champion that never dodged anybody. She fought everyone that challenged her, and not a lot of people really can sit there and say (that). She fought everyone.
"I always wanted to be able to avenge that loss, rematch her, you know? Fight her for the belt. And that's not gonna happen anymore. But I always felt that, at this point, I was one fight away from the belt anyway.
"So my goal is still the belt, regardless, and if she ever wants to come out of retirement, then maybe that could happen then – not every fighter stays retired, right?
"But I do feel like I'm one fight away from the title, regardless, even at 145 or 135. But, I was excited to fight for the title even before she retired, you know? But yeah, it does shake things up a little bit in the division because of it."
While one legend of the division has departed, rumors have started to swirl about the potential return of another, with former bantamweight queen Ronda Rousey being linked with a return to the UFC. Holm famously dethroned Rousey with a spectacular head-kick knockout at UFC 193, and said that, while she wasn’t sure about the legitimacy of those stories, she’d be more than happy to face “Rowdy” again if they proved to be true.
"You know, I don't know if she'll really come back. I mean, who knows if it's just talk," she said.
"She's a very competitive person. There's a reason why she was an Olympian and the reason why she was champion for so long, so I would absolutely revisit that fight. And (I’d do it) at either weight – I don't really think that it's an advantage or disadvantage, depending on the weight.
"We'll see if she comes back. I know she's been pretty busy with her life and whatever. she wants to do, more power to her. But if she comes back, that’d be great to fight again."
But, talk of former champions aside, Holm’s goal remains clear. She wants to become a two-time UFC women’s bantamweight champion, and sees victory over Silva as the clinching factor that could earn her another shot at the title, with Julianna Pena and Raquel Pennington also both at the top of the women’s 135-pound rankings.
"I don't see why it wouldn't, you know? We're ranked one, two, and three," she said.
"I know that I've already had this fight scheduled since before a lot of the shakeup in the division. But my focus is still Saturday night, because that's all I'm promised, right?
"Now I need to get past that (fight), but my focus needs to be there and present, and then see where we go from there."
