UFC president Dana White counts himself among the many who believe Holly Holm erred in taking a fight against Miesha Tate at UFC 196 instead of waiting for a rematch with Ronda Rousey.
With the UFC now eyeing Rousey-Tate III, Holm may never get the chance at another major payday as the women's bantamweight division has been completely shaken up.
White is blaming Holm's management team for leading her astray by risking her big-money rematch with Rousey in order to fight Tate, in particular her longtime manager Lenny Fresquez.
"The sad part about that is, listen, he's an old boxing guy who thinks he's smart, and he's not," White said ESPN Radio on Tuesday. "It's one of those things. I feel bad about it. I feel bad for Holly. I don't know if Holly really knows what she lost. I think she has so much faith in the people that surround her, she feels like, 'Well, they got me this far.'
"We had this meeting, and Holly wasn't even in it. Holly, that's your life. You should be in that meeting. Don't leave it to these people. Anyway, Holly made a lot of money. She accomplished great things, she beat Ronda Rousey. But it could have been so much bigger for her, and the sad part is, I don't think she even knows it."
Fresquez disputed the notion that Holm wasn't aware of what was at stake, telling ESPN either a second Rousey fight or a Tate rematch is still likely.
"Of course, she knows," Fresquez said. "It was a team decision, and Holly is the boss. She wanted to fight, and she got her wish. I think she'll fight Miesha or Ronda next. That's my personal feeling, but who knows what the UFC has cooking? Holly was dominant in that fight against Miesha except for the second and fifth round. She paid for it. Hat's off to Miesha for capitalizing.
