Holly Holm has broken her silence on Ronda Rousey's long-awaited return to MMA.
Rousey was on top of the world in 2015 when Holly Holm stunned her with a head kick knockout at UFC 193, handing the bantamweight champion her first professional defeat.
Just over a year later, Amanda Nunes finished what Holm started, stopping Rousey in under a minute. That bout would be the last time fans saw Rousey compete professionally – until now.
Ronda Rousey made her comeback after a decade away from MMA, stepping back into the spotlight on a live Netflix broadcast earlier this month.
The former UFC bantamweight champion didn't waste any time, submitting Gina Carano in just 17 seconds at MVP MMA 1.
Rousey then used her post-fight interview to confirm that she would be retiring again, stating that she wanted to focus on motherhood.
Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images for Netflix
Holly Holm wasn't surprised to see her old UFC rival look good after such a long layoff. She also wasn't shocked when Rousey chose not to stick around the sport once more.
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Holm said: "I wasn't shocked when she came back with this fight". "I think maybe deep down, there's just always this hunger that she had to want to get back in there and get a win, and it didn't surprise me that she wanted to"
"I think a lot of people, because of how her last two fights ended in knockouts, it's so easy for people to forget everything before.
"The reason why she was so dominant with what she did is because she was good at it, you know? She's very good with her judo and she's a master with the armbar. So, I wasn't shocked that she came in and was able to win like that.
"She's a threat for anybody with that armbar you see right there. She's a threat with anybody. She's very good at it. So, more punches thrown, not letting [Rousey] get into that close range and all that, could have been different, you know? But she went in there, and she did her thing.
"I highly doubt she'll ever want a rematch. I always have said since the minute the last fight was over, I'll always rematch her. That's always been available.
"But she wanted to come back and have this win and go back and enjoy and have a win like that. No hate from me. I hope she does well. I hope she does whatever she wants with her life. That's her life. I'd always be open to fight her again."
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