Ronda Rousey’s next opponent was always going to be one of two fighters.
Having been announced as the number one contender again by the UFC, Miesha Tate was the frontrunner to take on the bantamweight champion for a third time.
But there was always the possibility that that fight would be scrapped if Cris Cyborg Justino was able to drop to 135 lbs as the Brazilian is almost universally considered to be the biggest threat to Rousey’s throne.
But we can confirm that NEITHER is set to fight Rousey next.
The undefeated Rousey revealed on Good Morning America that she is set to put her belt on the line against Holly Holm at UFC 195 on January 2.
A former professional boxer, Holm will be the second consecutive opponent for Rowdy who goes into the title fight with a perfect professional MMA record of 9-0.
The Preacher’s Daughter is something of a surprise choice given the fact that she’s fought just twice in the UFC and left a number of fans underwhelmed in her split decision victory over Raquel Pennington in her promotional debut.
Jan 2nd @RondaRousey vs @_HOLLYHOLM for the women's bantamweight title at the @MGMGrand in Las Vegas. #UFC195 @UFC pic.twitter.com/4GC0kQjtEy
— danawhite (@danawhite) August 21, 2015
It could be argued that Holm is the most dangerous striker that Rousey has faced but, as Bethe Correia learned the hard way, Rousey’s got some pretty decent hands to go along with her world class Judo.
