Holly Holm, the woman who head-kicked the once-invincible UFC queen Ronda Rousey into unconsciousness last November, has been dubbed “the female Buster Douglas” after two losses in as many fights.
The 34-year-old former boxing and UFC title holder entered Sunday’s five-round main event bout with one thing on her mind: championship gold.
Holm had been promised a shot at the women’s 135-pound crown if she got past Valentina Shevchenko – a Kyrgyzstani Muay Thai machine who’s only defeat in the UFC’s chain-linked enclosure was to present-day champion Amanda Nunes.
The American striker’s night peaked in the first round, as she floored Shevchenko with a stiff right uppercut. After that, Holm’s highlights were few and far between.
The last four rounds were lopsided, with the 135-pound wrecking machine busting Holm up with a full-body attack consisting of punches, knees, kicks, elbows and even a few sneaky takedowns.
In the end, all three cage-side judges awarded the fight to Shevchenko with scores of 49-46.
This setback for Holm – her second since triumphantly toppling Rousey at Etihad Stadium – led to Canadian sports broadcasting station TSN comparing the former boxer to James “Buster” Douglas, the 42-to-1 underdog who famously rung Mike Tyson’s bell in Japan over two decades ago in an enormous upset, before suffering a fast and memorable fall from grace.
Since then, that sentiment has been parroted by every Twitter jokester looking to snag a few retweets, with most ready to just throw the Holm action figure in the box labelled “one-hit wonders”.
In actuality, it’s a rush to judgement to write Holm off as a has-been after these back-to-back defeats.
The first loss to American cover girl Miesha Tate was an incredibly close fight. In fact, Holm was ahead on all three judges scorecards before “Cupcake” locked up the final frame submission.
Sunday’s defeat to the rampaging Shevchenko certainly knocked Holm down a few pegs, but the theory that she is no longer a going concern in the 135-pound logjam is comical.
One thing is for sure, though, Holm’s unforeseen losing streak has drastically cooled the interest in a multi-million dollar rematch with the UFC’s golden-haired poster-girl.
Rousey, who has not fought since her first professional setback, is rumoured to be in preparation for an Octagon return in December.
Those whispers have become louder and louder over the past few days since Reebok unveiled a new commercial featuring the former Olympic bronze medal winning judoka.
“Perfect never gets truly tested,” Rousey says in the ad, which aired multiple times during Sunday’s UFC broadcast. “Perfect never gets to silence its critics. Perfect never gets a shot at redemption. So yeah. I’m fine with not being perfect.”
The “perfect” fight for a returning Rousey is a rematch against Holm, but few are clamouring for a match-up between two women without a win between them over the past eight months.
The first Rousey versus Holm championship bout sold 1.1 million units – the fifth highest selling fight in UFC history – and most combat sports experts agree that Rousey’s redemption fight against Holm could’ve shattered box office records at one time.
Following the title win, UFC decision makers planned to protect that big-money fight by benching Holm until the promotional cash cow was ready to return – an idea the seasoned face-puncher loathed.
Holm instead decided to capitalise on her new-found stardom by defending her title against Tate. It was a gutsy move by the New Mexico native, and one that she deserves credit for making, but Holm’s insistence on maintaining a constant schedule in Rousey’s absence has cost her millions of dollars.
The Holm versus Rousey fight could – and probably will – still happen, but it certainly won’t be the “biggest fight ever” as UFC boss Dana White once predicted.
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