Holmes: Dana White's Ronda Rousey Dilemma? Fighting A Worthy Foe
By Laurence W. Holmes--
(CBS) Ronda Rousey has no peer.
After six title defenses by the UFC bantamweight champion, this has become plain. Rousey is Mike Tyson in 1980s, Michael Jordan in the '90s. She's Serena Williams right now. Her dominance is somehow both electrifying and boring. That's the problem that UFC president Dana White now has on his hands, making a fight for Rousey that's worth viewers paying $60 for instead of just waiting to see the inevitable quick knockout/submission on Vine or Instagram for free.
It looked like White was going to set up a third match between Rousey and Miesha Tate, who has lost her first two bouts to Rousey. Still, she's probably the second-best fighter on the UFC roster. She remains the only woman to escape the first round against Rousey. She's qualified for a rematch, but no one wants to see it. No one's going to pay for it. It was so lopsided when the fight was rumored that Rousey opened in most sports books as an 11-1 favorite.
Enter Holly Holm.
Last Friday, Rousey announced that her next fight will be Jan. 2 against Holm, a 33-year-old boxer-turned-MMA fighter. She's an intriguing prospect. While boxing, she was Ring Magazine's Female Fighter of the year twice. She's a powerful, skilled striker with great reach, length and stamina. Holm is 9-0 in her MMA career and has gotten better in each fight.
The problem is a matter of both youth and experience. If Holm was 30, it would be easy to point to her and say, 'There's someone who could compete with Rousey in a couple of years.' She's still an incomplete fighter and four more fights against "top" competition would help with her seasoning. Holm will be 34 when she enters the octagon against Rousey, and it seems unfair. Sure, she gets her chance at Rousey and the belt, but she's not ready. That's the shame of it. White is going all the way down to the ninth-ranked contender to try and find competition for Rousey.
Holm is a 10-1 underdog. Upsets happen. It happened to Tyson, and it happens to Serena. But Rousey doesn't live a sloppy life outside of the octagon, like Tyson did outside the ring. She's not prone to being disinterested, like Williams occasionally is. Rousey has the laser focus of Jordan.
At a certain point, it isn't fun for us to see Rowdy Ronda beat up clearly inferior fighters. Rousey has already proved her point: She's the best fighter in the world.
Rousey is like someone who's mastered Super Mario Brothers and is now trying to see how fast she can do it or with how few points she can do it in. Sure, a win against Holm proves that Rousey can roll with an elite striker, but at this point, who gives a damn? There are no smudges on the Mona Lisa. The women's bantamweight division is her playground ,and I wonder if/when she will throw her hands up and just move on to being a full-time action star/wrestler/author.
Meanwhile, White will pump dollars into this fight, trying to convince us that Holm will make us not regret spending money for the pay-per-view. I'm not buying it. Well, literally, I'll buy the fight, but figuratively, I don't buy the competition.
Neither should you.
Laurence Holmes hosts the Laurence Holmes Show on 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @LaurenceWHolmes.