Over the past few months, plenty of current and former female boxing champions have called out the striking skills of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women's bantamweight titleholder, Ronda Rousey.
Or lack thereof.
Mainly because her coach, Edmond Taverdyan, has made it a point to boast about his pupil's improved striking technique, going as far as saying she would become a boxing champion and could even win a gold medal in the Olympics as a pugilist.
To some, those comments are flat-out "disrespectful"
But in the midst of all the hating, there are some who are impressed with "Rowdy's" punching prowess. Among them is Holly Holm, the former boxing champion turned mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who recently inked a deal with UFC.
During an appearance on The MMA Hour, Holm said Rousey proved in her fight with Alexis Davis (see it) that she has the technique to finish a fight with one clean shot and looks forward to the day when the two go toe-to-toe.
"With Alexis Davis, a lot of people were thinking that after she threw her down and hit her on the ground, I mean, she hit her clean with that overhand and that is what knocked her out. And then she was quick to bring her down and finish her. So I was very impressed with it. She landed a great, clean shot. It wasn't sloppy. I thought it was a good call, a clean shot she hit her with right on the jaw. And then she has the knees to the ribs of McMann. So she obviously has a very well-rounded game. She has cleaned house. Anybody that gets in there with her doesn't really give a her a hard time. She is definitely great and I think that she's good. I admire her for what she's been able to accomplish. Hopefully I will eventuality be able to step in the cage with her and have that honor to be able to fight someone who is the best in the world at what she does. If you're not in the sport to beat the best, that is a goal of mine, if not, then I shouldn't be doing this as my job. So yeah, hopefully we can do that. I just want to focus on one fight at a time, though. I don't want to look to far ahead. I have Raquel Pennington in front of me. But don't get me wrong, I always make sure to watch Ronda's fights. A lot of these girls are going to make it difficult for me, so I don't want to look too far past."
For the record, Rousey's coach also says Ronda can beat Holm in a straight-up boxing match.
Holly will make her much-anticipated Octagon debut when she faces Raquel Pennington at UFC 181 on Dec. 6, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. And if she proves victorious and UFC decides to grant her a title shot against Rousey -- who is set to take on Cat Zingano next year -- Holly is more than okay with it.
Despite only having seven MMA fights under her belt, "The Preacher's Daughter" will bring with her a bevy of fighting experience, as the former pro boxing champion has 38 boxing matches to her credit, not including her amateur fights.
She will also have plenty of expectations waiting for her too, as many expect Holm to repeat the success she had on the regional MMA circuit (7-0), as well as the boxing ring (33-2-3), and to carry it into the Octagon.
Holm also revealed that she is officially retired from boxing and has no plans to ever compete in the sport again, saying that all of her focus is on MMA. Which means that the striking specialist will have plenty of time to brush up on her overall MMA game.
Which can either be very good or very bad news, depending on which side of the Octagon you're standing on.