Holly Holm says she is still open to a Ronda Rousey rematch, but she does not sound convinced Rousey wants another one.
During an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Holm addressed the possibility of fighting Rousey again after Rousey’s MMA comeback. Holm said she has been open to the rematch since she first beat Rousey, but she chose not to sit out waiting for an answer that never came.
Watch the clip below.
Holly Holm addresses the possibility of a Ronda Rousey rematch and says her stance remains the same:
“I’ve always been open to a rematch with her since the day the fight was over. I said, ‘If she wants a rematch, I’m game anytime.’ I’ve always said I’m good with a rematch.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) May 27, 2026
“I’ve always been open to a rematch with her since the day the fight was over,” Holm said. “If she wants a rematch, I’m game anytime. I’ve always said I’m good with a rematch.”
Holm Says She Did Not Want To Wait Forever After UFC 193
Holm beat Rousey by second-round head-kick knockout at UFC 193 in November 2015, ending Rousey’s unbeaten run and taking the UFC women’s bantamweight title. The fight remains one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. Holm entered that night as a former multi-division boxing champion, while Rousey was the UFC’s first women’s champion and an Olympic bronze medalist in judo.
Holm said there was immediate talk about waiting for a Rousey rematch, but no clear answer came from Rousey’s side.
“Right after the fight, it was, hey, do you want to wait for the fight with Ronda?” Holm said. “I said, well, sure, how long are we going to wait? There was no answer because we had no answer from her.”
Holm said the issue was uncertainty, not interest.
“She didn’t say, yes, she just, you know, nothing,” Holm said. “And I was like, well, I don’t want to just sit and wait because I don’t know if she’ll ever want to fight or ever want a rematch or if she does come back, will it be with me? So I don’t know. There was no answer. So I chose to keep fighting.”
Rousey returned more than a year later at UFC 207, where Amanda Nunes stopped her in 48 seconds. Holm said she remained open to the rematch after that and still is.
“I think it was over a year after we fought and she fought Nunes, was done, but I’ve always said I would rematch her and I still would to this day,” Holm said.
Holm believes Rousey’s latest comeback may have been a one-fight ending rather than the start of another run.
“I just think that she wanted to come back, have a fight and then be done,” Holm said. “No hate on her for that.”
Holm also said a win can change how a fighter feels, even if Rousey has said she is finished.
“Maybe it kind of gave her some kind of a better finish for her career,” Holm said. “Maybe she’ll love the way that win felt and come back and still want to fight again. But I believe her when she says she’s done.”
Holm’s MMA record stands at 15-7 with one no contest. Rousey’s record stands at 13-2. The first fight still sits over both careers because Holm handed Rousey her first MMA loss, and the rematch never happened.
