Five possible fights for Holly Holm before she faces Ronda Rousey

Five possible fights for Holly Holm before she faces Ronda Rousey

by Andreas Georgiou - @AGeorgiouMMA

Holly Holm - Credit BellatorMMA

After the announcement from Dana White's official twitter account that the UFC have signed Holly Holm, MMA fans took a sigh of relief that the highly anticipated former boxing world champion is finally making her way to the big stage.

The announcement came the same day as the UFC released the entire Invicta FC library on their Fight Pass streaming service, as well as announcing their next event for September 6th.

Holm has impressed many of those watching her cage side, racking up an undefeated seven fight win streak, including a Bantamweight championship win over Juliana Werner at Legacy FC 30.

With Holm's UFC debut imminent, here are five possible challengers for the 32 year-old fighter.

5. Germaine de Randamie - Rank #12

Nothing against de Randamie, she is a good fighter, however if the UFC are looking to safeguard Holm then this is a winnable fight for her. You could argue that de Randamie and Holm have similar styles of fighting, both are prominently stand-up fighters but her dangerous kicks could be a problem for Holm. If Holm uses her ability to sit inside the pocket and counter strike, then it should be a definitive win for "Hottie" Holm. 

4. Liz Carmouche - Rank #7

It has come to realisation that Liz Carmouche is clearly the gateway of the Bantamweight division, if Uncle Dana and Lorenzo Fertitta want to see if someone is ready for the next challenge, they put them through Carmouche. Girl-Rilla's very good wrestling ability would definitely be the best that Holm has fought against thus far, and her granite chin combined with her determination would serve as a problem for Holm should she be looking to knock Carmouche out. 

3.  Jessica Andrade - Rank #9

One could argue that at the young age of 22, Andrade is one of the brightest talents in the division. Her well rounded style of BJJ, muay-thai and kickboxing is something to be feared by many, and could hold the key to stopping Holm. Everyone knows how good of a striker Holm is, however Andrade has only ever been stopped by strikes twice in her career. Her prolific submission game has seen her stop five of her opponents by submission. She loves looking for that jumping guillotine, which could be a problem for Holm who tends to fight aggressively. 

2. Sarah Kaufman - Rank #5

The 28 year-old fighter is arguably has the best Brazilian jiu-jitsu in the women's division. Despite losing to Ronda Rousey back in 2012, Kaufman is yet to get her rematch, and is on a collision course with the judo specialist after two wins over Leslie Smith. Her ground game could be tough for Holm, whom we haven't seen much off against a true BJJ specialist, however Kaufman's arguable weaker stand-up game is where Holm will look to dominate.

1. Jessica Eye - Rank #6

If the UFC really want to give Holm that quick push to set up a fight with Rousey, then who better than for her to fight the highly touted Jessica Eye. "Evil" Eye is coming off a close split decision loss to Alexis Davis at UFC 170, and although she lost that fight Eye did herself justice as a future contender. Her gruelling, tiring style of fighting could be a problem for Holm should the fight go three rounds, and her decent ability on the ground could prove costly for Holm.

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