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Holly Holm says Cris Cyborg deserves rematch, but would love Amanda Nunes after UFC 235

Holly Holm is firmly focused on her UFC 235 matchup with Aspen Ladd, but she does admit to holding interest in a fight with double-champ Amanda Nunes.

Holm (12-4 MMA, 5-4 UFC), the former UFC women’s bantamweight titleholder, meets Ladd (7-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in a key 135-pound matchup at UFC 235 in March. It marks her return to the weight class after a two-fight stint at featherweight, but the landscape of both divisions is now different with Nunes (17-4 MMA, 10-1 UFC) holding both titles.

If Holm has been consistent with one ideology throughout her fighting career, it’s that she can’t look past the fight in front of her. That hasn’t changed ahead of UFC 235, even with all that’s at stake.

“I’ve been focusing on this particular fight because I don’t want to overlook who I’m facing now and then run into a loss because I was looking too far into the future,” Holm told MMAjunkie. “I’m never promised another day and another fight, so I need to make the most of what’s in front of me. I’m going to have this fight with Aspen Ladd and we’ll see what happens going forward. There’s always short goals and long goals. Yes, I would love to be able to fight with Nunes. It’s one of the things that could happen. I’m just 100 percent into Aspen Ladd right now.”

UFC 235 takes place March 2 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and UFC Fight Pass.

After Nunes knocked out Cris Cyborg (20-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) in stunning fashion at UFC 232 in December to become a dual UFC champion, talk of two options for “The Lioness” begun to flourish. First was an immediately rematch with Cyborg, who had her 13-year unbeaten streak snapped with a 51-second defeat to drop the title. The other was a matchup with Holm.

During her dominant run in the octagon, Nunes has beaten every name to hold UFC gold at 145 and 135 pounds – not to mention two wins over 125-pound champ Valentina Shevchenko – except for Holm. “The Preacher’s Daughter” said she’s aware of that fact, and she’s like to test her skills against the Brazilian.

Holm, 37, does recognize Cyborg plays a big role in her getting that potential fight, though, and won’t deny her right to a rematch.

“She deserves a rematch for being somebody in a dominant position like that for so long getting knocked out? Yes, they absolutely deserves a rematch,” Holm said. “That’s the way it goes. I believe she deserve the chance to go fight again. I don’t think she needs people to talk her into it. Rematches after getting knocked out, it needs to come from the fighter themselves. If Cyborg comes forward saying, ‘I want the rematch I can absolutely do.’ Yes, I think Amanda should honor that.”

Holm won’t be in the running to fight against Nunes in the near future unless the result at UFC 235 goes her way. The former boxing and UFC champ has an unbeaten opponent who is 13 years her junior in Ladd, and Holm knows it’s a dangerous fight.

“She is young and she is undefeated and there’s a reason why she is undefeated and it’s because she’s tough, and she believes in herself,” Holm said. “She’s gone in, had some fights in the UFC as a young fighter and handled that pressure very well. She embraces it and it doesn’t break her. She’s up and coming. It’s not like Ladd has fought nobodies. But she still hasn’t fought me. It’s going to be a different fight than what she’s faced before, but I am very aware of her strengths and I am very aware that she’s a game opponent and I do not overlook her at all.”

For more on UFC 235, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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