Ronda Rousey
UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey said she wants to fight Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris "Cyborg" Justino, but only if the latter moved down to 135-pounds. Reuters/Ricardo Moraes

UFC commentator Joe Rogan expressed his disappointment after Ronda Rousey announced that she will fight Holly Holm in the main event of UFC 195. Rousey, who swiftly defended her title against Bethe Correia earlier this month, opted to fight Holm instead of a trilogy with Miesha Tate, who was previously confirmed by UFC officials to be the No. 1 contender for the women’s bantamweight championship after a four-fight winning streak.

The UFC surprised the MMA world when “Rowdy” appeared on an American TV show to declare Holm as her next opponent, which will take place on Jan. 2 in Las Vegas. While Holm’s background in professional boxing seems interesting against Rousey’s Octagon skills, some fans and pundits are not buying the hype, including Rogan, who is less than thrilled about the female champ’s next opponent.

“I don’t agree with that fight. The Holly Holm fight, I don’t think that’s smart,” Rogan said, reports MMA Junkie.

Rogan also said that the Rousey-Holm fight card would not be intriguing as a fight with Amanda Nunes, saying that the Brazilian fighter would be a more dangerous and marketable fighter. The 48-year-old Rogan added that Holm’s big issue is her grappling skills, but acknowledged the idea that the boxer-turned-MMA fighter may keep Rousey at distance because of her refined aggressiveness.

Meanwhile, Rousey praised her next opponent during her appearance in “Good Morning America.” Rousey believes Holm is the most decorated striker in the women’s division of MMA, citing the American fighter’s title as The Ring Magazine’s pound-for-pound female fighter of the year.

“She’s [Holm] not the average chick that I would fight. She’s the best striker I’ve ever fought, and striking is something I started later in my career,” Rousey said, reports Yahoo! Sports.

Holm has the flash and pedigree that could excite fans. While Holm is undefeated at a record of 9-0, the former boxer only had two UFC fights and both came off via unanimous decision. Tate, on the other hand, was expected to get the honour of fighting the “most dangerous unarmed women” in the planet after beating Jessica Eye at UFC on Fox in July. “Cupcake” earned her way into title contention after an impressive four straight wins ever since losing to Rousey in 2013.

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