I guess we should stop taking about Cris Cyborg and start talking about Holly Holm?
The way she's depicted by her manager, Lenny Fresquez, Holm is a mixed martial arts (MMA) "franchise," and not just some gal off the street who happens to kick butt for a living. That may explain why the former boxer is hunting for a "six-figure" contract to sign with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
And I assume from his comments to Sherdog.com that Holm doesn't plan on getting one by competing on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF):
"The UFC doesn't have but maybe five girls that could really give Holly competition. So we're just waiting for the UFC to give Holly the right opportunity, because we want a title fight. We want to fight the best UFC fighter. We're looking for six figures. And there's not too many fighters that make six figures. Right now, Holly earns probably more than 80-percent of the male fighters in the UFC and probably earns more than 98-percent of the female fighters. We'd like to work with them, I don't want to be disrespectful to the UFC. But they also gotta understand. They've bought Strikeforece, they've bought all these different ones. Holly's a franchise, as you can see. She's not just your normal fighter. She's more of a franchise, a key marquee. And to be honest with you, I think she'd represent the face of the UFC better than Ronda Rousey. She's a classy person, not that Ronda's not a classy person. I think she'd make a beautiful (face of WMMA)."
Holm is perfect at 6-0 with five wins coming by way of knockout or technical knockout.
She was last seen securing a unanimous decision win over the 6-7 Angela Hayes in the main event of Fresquez Productions: "Havoc" event last Friday night (Dec. 6, 2013) at the Route 66 Casino in Holmes' backyard of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Only one of her six previous opponents currently holds a winning record.
That said, "The Preacher's Daughter" was an accomplished pugilist, racking up a professional record of 33-2-3 and picking up multiple world titles along the way. So far, that experience has translated well to the cage; however, as with most ex-boxers, questions remain about her ground game.
And before she gets anywhere near UFC Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey, one has to wonder how she would handle an Olympic wrestler like Sara McMann, or a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt like Cat Zingano. We may find out, if ZUFFA is willing to dish out the dough.
Or not.