In an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, former UFC contender and current analyst Chael Sonnen said that he's not sure Holly Holm will have any advantage whatsoever, even with her boxing, when the former boxing champion faces unbeaten sensation Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 on November 14.
Sonnen also questions the validity -- well, he says there is none -- of the 17 boxing titles that Holm has claimed over her career.
"She is making a claim that she is a 17-time world champion. I will tell you as an analyst, she has zero world championships. There is no validity to any one of those titles. ... She showed up for some event, the promoter needed a main event, so he called that main event a world title. It's not a knock on her, but that's what happened. I'm not gonna sit back as an analyst and call her a world champion, let alone 17 times."
Holm (33-2-3, 9 KO in boxing / 9-0, 6 KO in MMA) may not even be able to outstrike Rousey when they fight, according to Sonnen:
"You'll hear the expression 'a puncher's chance,' but she's not very good at punching. Those boxing championships, they're not real. I'm not sure she could outstrike Ronda. She definitely can't outgrapple her. I wish her the best."
Most figure that the 33-year-old Holm is likely to be in over her head against the incredibly dominant Rousey, who has become one of the UFC's cornerstone stars and a sport-transcending figure, but is Sonnen right that she has a good chance of even being a better striker than Holm? And if Holm can't actually outbox/outstrike Rousey, then does "The Preacher's Daughter" even have a prayer in this fight?