Holly Holm was awarded ‘Upset of the Year’ at the ESPYs last week for her seismic knockout of Ronda Rousey in November. In Chicago this weekend, though, ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ will be aiming to ensure she is not on the receiving end of her own shock defeat when she faces the dangerous Valentina Shevchenko.
The former women’s bantamweight queen returns to the Octagon for her first appearance since surrendering the belt to the now deposed champion Miesha Tate in March.
But victory in the main event of UFC on FOX 20 this Saturday will catapult the 34-year-old back into title contention.
Ever since her second-round finish of Rousey, the 135lbs strap has become a hot potato.
In the division’s short life only Rousey has successfully defended the title, doing so on six occasions.
Now, it is in the possession of its fourth owner, Amanda Nunes, after she stopped Tate in the first round of their main event clash at UFC 200 earlier this month.
“I was hoping to be the one to keep it and not go from here to here to here,” Holm said.
“I do feel like the top 10 now compared to the top 10 two years ago is completely different. I feel like women’s MMA just keeps getting better and the girls keep getting better and the competition keeps getting harder.”
The stars may be aligning for Holm, though. With Rousey slated for a return early next year, there is ample time to slot in another title fight. Should she defeat Shevchenko, then there is no doubt she will be the first to take on the new champ Nunes later in the year.
Naturally, that then sets up the rematch we’ve all, including the UFC, been waiting for: Holm v Rousey 2. However, mixed martial arts never adheres to the playbook.
Holm simply cannot look past Shevchenko, a talented striker in her own right. Although she was the bigger fighter, the Kyrgyzstani has beaten arguably the best female MMA fighter in the world right now, strawweight queen Joanna Jedrzejczyk, three times in Muay Thai.
Those credentials cannot be overlooked and neither can the ‘Bullet’.