The Bottom Line: The Defining of Holly Holm

Editor's note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media.

Matt Hughes famously argued that a champion is not a true champion until after a successful title defense. On its face, it’s a rather dismissive sentiment. After all, not all champions are going to be as dominant in their primes as Hughes was in his. Plenty of great fighters have won an Ultimate Fighting Championship title and never successfully defended it, from Mark Coleman and Bas Rutten to Josh Barnett and Mauricio Rua. However, if Hughes is correct in the paramount importance of defending one’s title, there has never been a better example than Holly Holm’s defense against Miesha Tate at UFC 196 on Saturday in Las Vegas. Just months after her defeat of Ronda Rousey at UFC 193, where there was so little pressure against a dominant and heavily favored champion, the pressure couldn’t be any more squarely on Holm when she defends against Tate.

The MMA world and the greater public that followed the celebrity of Rousey are still figuring out what to make of Holm. It’s not that she doesn’t have plenty of supporters. She was greeted as a conquering hero in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where thousands turned out to celebrate her victory. Nor is there disagreement about what sort of person she is; it’s difficult to find anyone who has a negative word to say about her. Rather, the question is how she fits into the Rousey story that has overshadowed much of the rest of the sport the past few years.

During the time that Rousey dominated the women’s bantamweight division, her opponents were principally defined in relation to her. Even after defeating Rousey, Holm is still in that boat. Holm’s public persona relies heavily on how fans think of Rousey. To those who view Rousey as a kickass female role model, Holm is the dangerous nemesis against whom Rousey needs revenge. To those who view Rousey as an arrogant villain, Holm is the humble warrior who taught her a lesson.

Holm may be able to change that reality with continued success as bantamweight champion. That’s certainly not a guarantee. Cain Velasquez wasn’t able to capture Brock Lesnar’s star power even after defeating him and winning three additional UFC heavyweight title fights. What is pretty much certain is that if Holm promptly loses her title to Tate, she’ll be remembered principally as the fighter that upset Rousey. That’s hardly a legacy to be ashamed of, but it does underscore the importance of the Tate fight.

A couple of examples are instructive in this regard. Matt Serra famously upset Georges St. Pierre in 2007, handing GSP what stands now as his final career loss. St. Pierre had no unavenged defeats and was coming off a spectacular knockout of longtime champion Hughes, making the Serra loss a shocking turn of events. Serra lost the title fight back to St. Pierre in his next appearance and would only fight three more times before retiring. Today, the affable Serra is well liked by hardcore MMA fans but is principally remembered among the broader fan base for his upset of St. Pierre.

In a different example, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was revered by MMA fans in 2003. Nogueira was running through the best fighters in Pride Fighting Championships after becoming the promotion’s first heavyweight champion in 2001. Like St. Pierre, Nogueira was coming off a fight in which he avenged the only defeat of his career in emphatic fashion, as he became the first man to submit Dan Henderson. Nogueira then ran into a lesser-known Russian fighter named Fedor Emelianenko, who took it to Nogueira and won the Pride title. If Nogueira had avenged that loss, Emelianenko might be remembered principally for upsetting Nogueira. Instead, he beat Nogueira again and dominated the division, and the defeat of Nogueira is barely even remembered as an upset.

Like Serra, Holm could end up remembered as one of MMA’s all-time greatest upsets. Alternatively, Holm could end up like Emelianenko, a great champion who started her reign by taking out another all-time great. It’s a stark contrast. Holm’s MMA resume lends itself to either path. On the one hand, she is undefeated. If she continues to rack up wins, the fact that she has never been defeated could speak to her greatness. On the other hand, she was underwhelming in her previous UFC fights against Marion Reneau and Raquel Pennington. If she struggles against Tate, it fits the narrative that she was the perfect matchup for Rousey and couldn’t replicate that performance against anyone else.

If the stakes are high for Holm’s legacy, they’re even higher for her checkbook and that of the UFC. Holm defending her title against a returning Rousey very well could be the biggest box-office fight in the history of the sport. Holm-Rousey 2 in a non-title fight or Tate-Rousey 3 would also do well on pay-per-view but not like Rousey coming back to get the title from the woman who took it from her. It’s a big gamble.

Money is one thing, but legacy is another. Coming off a win as monumental as the stoppage of Rousey, Holm’s next steps are pivotal in establishing how she is remembered. Defending that title against Tate is the crucial first step in her champion’s journey. It will not only chart the direction of the future but also frame and define the still-malleable past.