There’s only one thing on Holly Holm’s mind and that’s UFC gold.
Holm failed in her first attempt to defend her UFC women’s bantamweight title when she was choked unconscious by Miesha Tate in the co-main event of UFC 196 earlier this month.
Tate came from behind on the judges’ scorecards to get the finish at the death, making her the third holder of the female 135 lbs crown in the UFC.
After the bout a number of options opened up for ‘Cupcake’ including a rematch with Holm or a third clash with former champ Ronda Rousey, if and when she returned to action.
But Holm is determined to make that shot her own, with claims from agent Lenny Fresquez that they had been offered the chance to welcome Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino to the Octagon but turned it down.
“We were not interested in that right now,” Fresquez told the Albuquerque Journal. “(Holm) just wants to fight Miesha.”
‘Cyborg’ instead takes on Leslie Smith at UFC 198 at a catchweight of 140 lbs.
Fresquez continued to explain that talks with Tate’s team were supposed to take place last week but the champion was out of the country.
“Miesha was in Australia on vacation, so they were supposed to get with her this week,” Fresquez added. “Hopefully, in the next couple of weeks we’ll know.”
As badly as Holm wants an immediate rematch, she has acknowledged that she is no longer in the power position, having lost the title that she held for just 111 days.
“Right now, what’s on my heart is the rematch,” she said. “(But) I don’t necessarily want to be too picky, either. I’m the one coming off a loss. I can’t expect to have everything handed to me, so we’ll see what happens.”
