Boxing champ Holly Holm not rushing UFC title fight with Ronda Rousey

(This story first ran in today’s edition of USA TODAY.)

According to unbeaten women’s bantamweight fighter Holly Holm, it’s almost nice to have a broken arm during prolonged contract negotiations like the ones that preceded her entry in the ranks of the UFC.

While Holm’s management battled it out with UFC executives behind closed doors, with UFC President Dana White at one point saying he’s “not interested whatsoever” in Holm after meeting with her longtime manager, Lenny Fresquez, Holm never got too concerned, even after months passed with no deal in place.

“Having a broken arm probably helped with that, because it’s not like I could really do anything yet anyway,” Holm tells USA TODAY Sports. “That helps to keep you patient.”

Four months after White appeared to rule out a deal entirely, there he was on Twitter, showing off a lopsided grin as he held up Holm’s signed contract and welcomed her to the UFC.

According to Fresquez, who’s worked with Holm throughout much of her decorated boxing career and continued on as her manager when she made the full-time leap to MMA, it was just a matter of getting the UFC to understand what he’d had a decade to learn.

“I just don’t think we agreed on Holly’s valuation at first,” Fresquez says. “Of course I’m prejudiced since I’ve promoted her for 10 years, but I think Holly’s worth a lot. I actually think they got a heck of a deal right now.”

The current contract is a five-fight deal, Fresquez says. A doctor’s visit this week to asses the state of Holm’s arm, which she broke en route to a fifth-round TKO victory over Juliana Werner in April at a Legacy FC event, will determine when she can make her debut.

But while Holm’s signing was met with immediate questions as to how soon she might challenge UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, Holm and her manager are in no great hurry there. Fresquez says he’d like Holm to have “a couple of fights” before she thinks about taking on the champ, and that plan suits Holm just fine.

“I know I have a lot to learn, so I do want to have a couple fights before fighting Ronda,” Holm says. “But if you told me that’s what I had to do right now, I’d say fine, let’s grind it out and get to work. I just feel like there are some more things I want to learn first.”

One thing she doesn’t have to worry about, according to Fresquez, is being awed by the attention. While Holm might still only have seven pro fights to her credit in MMA, she racked up nearly 40 as a boxer, including wins over some of the best female fighters that sport had to offer.

Trying to build up to a big payday against the UFC champion is a strategy not without its risks, especially in a sport where rising stars become yesterday’s news with one well-placed punch or smooth submission, but Fresquez insists he isn’t afraid that taking it slow will backfire.

“She’s been at the dance before,” Fresquez says. “I don’t see her being a deer in the headlights in the UFC. Every opportunity I’ve ever put in front of Holly Holm, she’s capitalized on. I never doubt her.”

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.