UFC Women’s Division Chatter – Rousey to take time, Holm closer to contract, Carano talks stall
The ladies arrived in the UFC last year and you can arguably state that the bantamweight champion, Ronda Rousey, is the biggest star in the sport. How it happened and so quickly is a success story in its own right, but it appears as if the Olympian turned undefeated mixed martial artist is seeking to take a small break, a well-deserved vacation if you will.
And she’s earned it.
“I keep talking about how I’m going to take a break. I really do say every time I’m in camp, ‘oh man, I can’t wait to take a vacation,’ and I really need it this time. I think I’m really going to do it this time,” Rousey told the Great MMA Debate Podcast.
“I think I’m going to take a vacation in August, probably like the end of August or beginning of September. I might even go somewhere for like a month just to break it up a little bit because I have been constantly on the go, charging it since 2010 it feels like. I work in quadrennials. So it’s 2014 now. It’s like I’ve gone through a whole Olympic cycle. I’m ready to take a little bit of a break after this one,” she said.
“I can’t go forever, or I will end up burning the candle at both ends at some point. So I’m just going to beat Alexis, I’m going to promote this movie, and then I’m really going to take some time to rest a little bit,” said the 27-year-old.
NOT INDEFINITE
“My version of taking a little bit of time to rest might be much different than Georges St. Pierre’s, where he needs so long that he needs to give up his belt,” she said. “I don’t plan on taking that long of a break, long for me, which is probably like a month of doing something else. One month of just not training.”
HOLLY HOLM
One of the top names in women’s MMA, former pro-boxer and current Legacy Fighting Championships women’s bantamweight champion, Holly Holm (7-0) is closer to a contract with the UFC according to reports. Nothing is confirmed as of yet, however, “things are progressing.”
The 32-year-old Holm has quickly become one of the most promising female prospects within the 135-pound division since announcing her retirement from professional boxing, where she amassed a 33-2-3 record and 18 world titles across three weights classes.
Six out of Holm’s seven professional mixed martial arts victories have ended via knockout or TKO, including her most recent outing, a five-round pasting of Juliana Werner that ended with a sizzling head kick combination and earned Holm the vacant Legacy FC women’s bantamweight championship.
GINA CARANO
The original face of women’s mixed martial arts, Gina Carano, made headlines earlier this year when talks of her contract with Zuffa, the parent company of Strikeforce MMA, the organization she held a championship with before walking away from the sport for acting roles after losing her title, was close to expiring. Rumor had it that Carano was going to renegotiate the contract and that she might be given an immediate title shot against current champion, Rousey.
According to a report made by MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani on UFC Tonight, negotiations between Carano (7-1) and the UFC have stalled. Both sides still wish to work together and the topic has not been dropped entirely, however, Carano’s Strikeforce contract has expired and the actress, who last fought in mid-2009 and this year turned 32 years old, is free to look elsewhere if she so desires.
