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Lenny Fresquez said he was a little surprised by last week’s announcement that Julianna Peña will take the next shot at UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes.
But it’s no surprise, Fresquez said, that it wasn’t Albuquerque’s Holly Holm, a longtime client of manager/promoter/agent Fresquez, who got the title shot. Questions about the possibility after Holm’s impressive victory on March 25 against Yana Santos by unanimous decision, she said, went unanswered.
Holm (15-6), it is true, lost by first-round TKO to Nunes (22-5) in July 2019. It is also true that, among the top bantamweight contenders in the UFC, only Peña (11-5) who defeated Nunes, which he did with a shocking upset (second round on the back naked) in December 2021.
However, Nunes regained the title by unanimous decision about seven months ago.
However, Holm is 4-1 against contenders in the UFC’s top six — the only loss being a split decision loss to Brazil’s Ketlen Vieira. If not for the loss of Vieira, it could have been Holm, not Peña, who took the title.
Vieira, no doubt, was in line for a title shot before losing to Raquel Pennington in her next fight after the Holm win. But Pennington, the No. 2 challenger in the UFC behind Peña and one spot above Holm, losing once to Nunes and twice to Holm.
Many, including Nunes, expect Mexico’s Irene Aldana — who has yet to face Nunes — to get the next title shot. Aldana has wins over Santos and Vieira but lost by unanimous decision to Holm in October 2020 and to Pennington in July 2019.
Nunes-Peña III is scheduled for June 10 at UFC 289 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Holm, perhaps, should be rooting for Peña since the two have yet to fight. A scheduled fight between the two in May 2021 was scrubbed due to a medical issue with Holm that required surgery.
Nunes is an early 7-to-1 favorite.
In any case, Fresquez said he hopes to see Holm back in the Octagon by late summer.
Against whom? Fresquez said he is confident Holm will beat anyone the UFC puts in the cage with her.
“Holly is 100 percent (physically) for the first time in a long time,” he said. “It doesn’t matter who the opponent is.”
And, even at age 41, Holm can afford to wait. The Santos fight is the first of a new, six-fight UFC contract extension.
WEEKEND WRAP-UP: On Saturday in Kansas City, Missouri, longtime Albuquerque MMA fighter Lando Vannata lost by unanimous decision to Mexico’s Daniel Zellhuber in a lightweight bout at UFC 287.
Vannata (12-7-2) lost during the last two minutes of the first round and narrowly avoided having the fight stopped by referee Jason Herzog.
But Vannata came back to win the second round on three scorecards. And had he won a competitive third round on the cards by judges Sal D’Amato and David Huyette, the fight would have ended in a draw.
That didn’t happen — all three judges scored the third for Zellhuber (13-1) — leaving one to wonder if Vannata made the right decision to move back to 155 pounds from 145 for this fight. .
Physically, if not tactically, he appeared overmatched.
Vannata, who has lived in Albuquerque since 2011, has been training in Denver for Saturday’s fight.
… On Friday in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Albuquerque MMA welterweight Jalin Fuller (7-3) was thwarted in his bid for an LFA title — KOd by a right hand to the temple from the new champion Trey Waters (7-1) in the second round.
… Last Friday at Jackson-Wink MMA, as reported by cagedminds.com, Dwight “Akuma” Maters came back from a knockdown to defeat JW teammate Shawn Morgan via first-round submission (arm triangle ) in a super heavyweight fight. This is the pro debut of both men.
In another pro fight on the JW card, bantamweight Marquis Johnson (3-5) defeated Jackson-Wink’s partner Vincent Van Alstine (pro debut) by first-round submission (rear bare choke).