Holly Holm not holding out for Miesha Tate rematch: ‘I want to avenge my loss against her when she’s at her best’

When Miesha Tate returned from retirement, Holly Holm hoped she might get her chance to avenge a previous loss. But ultimately, the rematch didn’t come together.

After losing to Tate in the first defense of her UFC bantamweight title back in 2016, Holm thought a second fight made perfect sense. When Tate made her comeback this past year, “Cupcake” focused on slowly getting back into the title race at 135 pounds. Holm, meanwhile, was sitting near the top of the divisional rankings.

However, Tate ultimately suffered a loss to Ketlen Vieira that prompted her to move to flyweight. That seemingly nixed the rematch with Holm, but it turns out the ex-UFC champion wasn’t all that upset.

“It’s one of those things, too, where I would love to avenge that loss, but with that being said, I also don’t want to do it just to do it,” Holm told MMA Fighting. “I only want to do it if it makes sense. So if she loses and then goes to flyweight and she’s over doing all this stuff, it doesn’t really make sense. I would want to fight her if she came back in and she’s on a win streak.

“I want to get the best of you. I don’t want to get what’s left or what’s different or what’s changed or anything like that. I would want to do it when it makes sense. When it’s a challenge, when it’s something I want to do. Maybe in the future, it will work. Maybe she’ll get some wins under her belt and then it’s an exciting rematch. That makes sense to me.”

Holm is now scheduled to face Vieira in UFC Vegas 55’s main event on Saturday in a fight that could potentially crown a No. 1 contender in the bantamweight division. With a long-term goal of becoming champion again, the 40-year-old veteran would rather keep her focus on that rather than chasing a rematch against Tate.

“I want to do it when she’s on a win streak, not when she’s lost,” Holm said. “I know Ketlen is very tough. I’m not saying Miesha isn’t good enough or didn’t do well, it’s just that I want somebody if I’m going to rematch her where it’s like, ‘She’s on a streak,’ and I want to avenge my loss against her when she’s at her best. I wouldn’t want it to be something like, ‘Let’s make this fight happen because it should happen.’ I only want to do it if it’s exciting.

“Who knows? Maybe she’ll go to 125 and get some wins and then come back to 135, but I definitely would want to see where she’s at, and then as time goes, if it makes sense, then it’s awesome.”

Considering Tate was retired for nearly five years, Holm had already moved on from the rematch, and she’s taking the same approach now that they’re competing in different weight classes.

“I’d rather just prove myself with whatever fights come my way that are challenging,” Holm said. “I want it always to go forward for the belt. Not just to do it, to do it.”