UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey opened the morning with a special announcement, and it came as a bit of a surprise as she won’t be fighting Miesha Tate or Cris Cyborg for her next title defense, but will instead be taking on undefeated boxing champion Holly Holm. Here are my thoughts on the latest fight bookings: Ronda Rousey vs Holly Holm, UFC 195 Fresh off her 34 second victory over Bethe Correia, Ronda Rousey is looking to continue her reign of complete domination as she’ll take on Holly Holm. Holm is one of the last undefeated female bantamweight fighters remaining on the UFC roster so she has that going for her, but the fact that her ground game is still a complete question mark is what makes this a very scary fight for the Albuquerque native. If Holm can’t keep this fight at distance with her jab and kicks, it’s going to be over very quickly. Ronda has been opening as a massive favorite for all of her fights and I don’t expect anything different here. Something in the -1000 range or higher wouldn’t shock me. Gegard Mousasi vs Uriah Hall, UFC Fight Night 75 That was fast. Roan Carneiro is out and Uriah Hall steps in as an injury replacement against former Strikeforce champion Gegard Mousasi. Hall is coming off a very impressive first round finish of Oluwale Bamgbose just two weeks ago, but he’s going to have to bring his A-game if he wants to hang with Mousasi, who’s significantly more experienced and reliable than him. Mousasi will open as a pretty decent favorite, but Hall will always have a puncher’s (or kicker’s) chance against anyone who keeps the bout standing against him. Evan Dunham vs. Joe Lauzon, TUF 22 Finale Two serious lightweight veterans will duke it out this December as Joe Lauzon and Evan Dunham look to continue their recent run of success. Dunham stepped up in a big way to defeat Ross Pearson while Lauzon had his way with Takanori Gomi, both winning convincingly this past July. Dunham proved he still has plenty left in the tank while Lauzon has continued to shine against non-top 15 lightweights. This should be a good test to see who could potentially still make a run in the division. I expect Lauzon to open as the favorite due to his dynamic ground game and popularity, but Dunham could play spoiler if he can use his wrestling and grinding style. Ryan LaFlare vs. Mike Pierce, TUF 22 Finale Finally healthy after Rousimar Palhares took him out of action, Mike Pierce finally makes his UFC return this December against fellow gritty wrestler Ryan LaFlare. LaFlare was handed his first UFC loss earlier this year by Demian Maia, who managed to take him down repeatedly. LaFlare is an excellent scrambler and a top athlete, and Pierce is going to have to shake off the rust quickly if he wants to win this bout. I think LaFlare will open as the favorite due to Pierce’s long layoff, but don’t count Pierce out just yet. He has power and can be downright stifling along the fence.
