When it comes to the rivalry between Miesha Tate and Holly Holm, it’s a classic case of “she said, she said.” In the early days of December, Tate (19-9) opened up about her recovery after her match against Julia Avila. She also shared her thoughts on what she wanted to do next. She was quite frank about the fact that her decisions were dependent on the outcome of her matches. If she had lost, she might have considered retirement. But since she won, she’s keen to push forward.
Tate’s gaze has been fixed on the field of bantamweight contenders. But one name stands out among the rest: her former adversary, Holly Holm. When asked about the possibility of a rematch with Holm at UFC 300 in April, Tate seemed quite open to the idea, provided her health allowed it. “I think it’s a great time,” she said. “I think that sounds reasonable [to fight Holm again].”
Holm, who is 42, last competed against Mayra Bueno Silva in July. She lost to a second-round ninja choke. Silva later failed a post-fight drug test, and the loss was overturned to a no-contest. Despite this, Silva is still set to compete for the vacant 135-pound title. Before this, the ex-kickboxer had won three out of four matches, with decisions over Raquel Pennington, Irene Aldana, and Yana Santos.
Meanwhile, Tate managed to bounce back from a two-fight losing streak earlier in December with a submission win over Avila. This marked her return to bantamweight after an unsuccessful trip to flyweight against Lauren Murphy in 2022. Since retiring after a 2016 loss to Pennington, Tate has competed four times, winning two by stoppage and losing two via decision.
However, according to Holm’s manager, Lenny Fresquez, their team does not believe that Tate is considering the Holm rematch. The two first fought at UFC 196 in 2016 with Holm’s bantamweight crown on the line. While all three judges had Holm up 38-37 heading into the final round, Tate managed to pull off a submission comeback to put Holm to sleep with a rear-naked choke. This handed “The Preacher’s Daughter” her first professional loss. Fresquez believes the interest is not mutual.
“She wants nothing to do with Holly,” Fresquez told MMA Junkie on Wednesday. “She’s turned down the fight three times already. We are looking for someone tougher. We are hopeful we will be on UFC 300. No opponents have been brought up yet.”
UFC 300 is set to take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on April 13. No names on the marquee have been announced, but the promotion did release a trio of matches on its billing. These include Jiri Prochazka vs. Aleksandar Rakic at light heavyweight, Aljamain Sterling vs. Calvin Kattar in the featherweight division, and Bo Nickal vs. Cody Brundage in a middleweight contest.