I think Holly is going to surprise a lot of people in this fight. A lot of people are counting her out and that's not wise.
Holm is a very, very intelligent fighter and is a tough opponent for everybody in WMMA right now. Ronda isn't going to be able to just charge her like she does to everybody else. Holm always does a superb job with her footwork and you can't expect to catch her just by rushing forward. Holm's ability to circle is too good for something like that, and she's very quick.
I think Holm really needs to utilize her jab in this fight. Ronda keeps her head on center most of the time and has a tendency to stick her head straight up when throwing punches. If Holm is able to use her jab and circle effectively and keep Ronda at a distance so she can use her rangy kicks, she could make this a hell of a fight for Ronda.
Holm has shown she's physically pretty strong compared to her opponents. We've seen some of her opponents go to clinch and they can't even move Holly at all, Holly easily just muscles them around, defends their TD's and has shown she can take them down.
I know she hasn't fought anybody like Ronda. She hasn't fought anybody with the grappling ability of Ronda, especially from the clinch. But, Ronda hasn't fought anybody like Holly, either. She hasn't fought anybody with striking even close to as good as Holly's, and Ronda hasn't faced anybody with footwork or speed like what Holly brings to the table.
If Holly can keep Ronda at a distance and keep Ronda off of her with her superior footwork and ability to circle, she could very well pick Ronda apart on the feet. I highly doubt Ronda will be able to bull rush Holly like she has done to many others, and Holly won't try to rush Ronda like some of her past opponents, either.
Holly is a very intelligent fighter and she's great at making you fight her fight. If she can avoid being taken down, this is her fight, in my opinion. Ronda is way too sloppy on the feet and has so many technical errors, is overaggressive, that I don't see Ronda being able to bully Holly like she has done to pretty much everybody else.
Holly may not have mauled her last few opponents, but that doesn't mean she isn't a threat to Ronda. Some may feel Holly wasn't very impressive in her last two fights because she didn't knock their heads off, but you need to understand that it really isn't in Holly's style to be very aggressive at all. She looks to pick her opponent apart most of the time, she plays it a little safer and doesn't rush herself in any way.
She's a very, very calm and relaxed fighter. She doesn't get overaggressive and doesn't make technical errors like most other WMMA fighters do, Ronda included. She has solid striking, great defense, great footwork/overall movement, controls the cage extremely well, is one of the fastest girls in the division, etc.
She's a very, very tough match for Ronda, stylistically speaking. She's a serious threat. So, don't be surprised if Holly picks Ronda apart. She is by far the superior striker and is very strong in the clinch. She will be very well prepared for this fight and I believe this is going to be Ronda's toughest fight, a fight she may end up losing.
Don't count Holly out. Ronda is in for a real fight this time, I guarantee you that.