Saturday Night may be the last time we see Holly Holm at 145 pounds for a long time if the former bantamweight champion has anything to say about it.
Holly Holm will be squaring off against Megan Anderson at UFC 225 from The United Center in what seemed to be an significant bout for the women’s featherweight division, being a fight that would determine the #1 contender to challenge Cris Cyborg and also a fight between two highly respected names in WMMA that could demonstrate that there is a 145 division outside of Cris Cyborg. However, speaking to reporters during the UFC 225 Media Lunch Scrum Friday, Holm seemed to contradict both notions, suggesting that she has plans other than fighting Cris Cyborg after this fight and, furthermore, she would prefer not to be in the division at all:
“I’m just gonna take this fight,” Holm said. “And after that, I would love to be able to go back to 135 and be able to fight for the belt. I know that I’m the #1 contender there. Why not try to go back to that? How awesome would that be to be able to get my belt back. That’s what I want.”
Holm last held the bantamweight championship in the first quarter of 2016, where she lost the championship to Miesha Tate at UFC 196 that saw Tate earn the come-from-behind victory in the closing minutes of the bout. This did not seem to be a topic to which the former champion is still dancing around with. Her mind seems clear of where she is going and what her long-term goals are:
“Oh, I’m definitely going back to bantamweight to fight for the 135 pound belt. I would love to do that. That’s where I’ve fought my entire MMA career at 135 until my Germaine [de Randamie] fight was when I first fought at 145.”
Holm would lose this featherweight debut against de Randamie via unanimous decision. Her next fight in the division took place at UFC 219 to challenge Cris Cyborg for the featherweight championship, which also saw Holm lose via unanimous decision. Whether Holm drops to 0-3 this weekend when she faces Megan Anderson or if she gets in the win column, the Preacher’s Daughter is certain where she belongs:
“I definitely feel like 135 is a little more my home, so we’ll see what happens.”
It’s difficult to imagine Holm not challenging Cyborg with a victory over Anderson Saturday night, so “what happens” may well be more a matter of the direction the promotion chooses to go in. And if that is Holm challenging Cyborg in a rematch for the featherweight strap, may once again call for some sweetening of the pot to keep Holm away from home.
Would you rather see Holly Holm compete in the featherweight or bantamweight division?
