Former UFC bantamweight champion Holly Holm says she's open to facing Cris 'Cyborg' Justino for the UFC's featherweight championship in December.
Holm (11-3) is currently weighing options for her next bout. The Albuquerque native is coming off a highlight reel knockout over Bethe Correia in a 135-pound fight in June.
A 145-pound matchup between Holm and Justino (18-1), who won her title last month, would be a very strong draw for the UFC. President Dana White has already expressed his interest, and Justino has all but demanded Holm move up in weight for a Dec. 30 matchup in Las Vegas.
A former boxing champion who has fought at 145 pounds previously, Holm has been relatively quiet about the proposed superbout but told ESPN she's quite open to it.
"This is me publicly saying, 'Yes, I am open to the fight at 145 [pounds],'" Holm said. "[But] I'm not going to take a fight at 135 pounds one month, and then the next month it's, 'Oh hey, do you want to fight Cyborg at 145?'
"This is me going outside of my weight class and that's OK. I'm willing to take the fight. I just want to have a full training camp."
When asked if a proposed Dec. 30 date would be enough time to prepare, Holm said it would. In that case, the only detail left to sort out would be a bout contract.
"My [UFC] contract is at 135 pounds," Holm said. "So, if they came with a fight like that, I would say, 'Let's negotiate.'
"I truly feel that is one of, if not the biggest, female fights they can promote. I'm not in it for the priority of money, but I value myself. My biggest passion is about the fight itself, but this is my career and anybody looking out for their career is looking at the facts. This is a huge fight and I'm sure everybody around it, the promotion, is going to make money. So, I would expect more money."
This is not the first time discussions have taken place regarding this matchup.
The UFC approached Holm about a 140-pound catchweight fight against Justino earlier this year, which she says she was also open to. The fight never materialized, in part because Justino was dealing with a potential anti-doping violation she was ultimately cleared from.
For the record, Holm isn't convinced Justino couldn't simply drop down to the 135-pound weight class, which is deeper than 145. Justino's struggles to make the lower weight have been well documented, and led to the UFC opening a new weight class this year.
That said, Holm isn't ruling out a move up. She's also a candidate to face the winner of a Sept. 9 bantamweight title fight between Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko, but acknowledges it's the Justino fight that has people talking.
"I've had no fight presented to me," Holm said. "[But] obviously, there are talks.
"I know she kind of gets upset that a lot of people are dodging her -- but there are two ways to look at it. Is everybody dodging her, or is she dodging everybody in the 135-pound division? I could go and call out the entire 125-pound division.
"She's made 140 pounds. What's five [more] pounds? If she really, really, really wanted to -- yes, I 100 percent think Cyborg can make 135. She's my exact height."
If Holm, 35, were to move up and defeat Justino, she'd have an even stronger case as the most accomplished female combat athlete of all time. In addition to holding titles in multiple sports, Holm handed Ronda Rousey the first loss of her MMA career in November 2015 -- a violent second-round knockout.
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Holly Holm says she's 'open' to fighting Cris 'Cyborg' Justino in ... - ESPN (blog)