Holm ready to step back into UFC spotlight

Holly Holm went from littleknown underdog to Ronda Rousey slayer to forgotten in under four months.

Now, after months of Miesha Tate bashing, a mostly silent Ronda Rousey and the fighting world wondering when Rousey will make her return, Holm is set to make hers.

Holm is back for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night Chicago, where she’ll take on No. 7-ranked Valentina Shevchenko, and like the low-key killer she always has been, Holm isn’t following in Tate’s trash-talk- ing footsteps.

“My whole concern is just to get a win,” Holm told FOX Sports. “I want to win this coming fight, and that’s it. … Whatever comes after that has to be because I do well, and that’s all I’m worried about.

“As much as people say, ‘What do you want after this fight?’ it’s like: I need to deal with this one. I’m facing one of the best girls out there. I can’t look past this weekend. I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me.”

If Holm beats Shevchenko, she could be in line to be the first challenger for bantamweight titleholder Amanda Nunes or to face Rousey or Tate, who took Holm’s best before recording a stunning fifth-round choke-out.

“I always want to avenge the loss, but either one is fine,” Holm said when asked directly about facing Rousey or Tate.

“It doesn’t matter which fight. I would be going into both carrying a lot of weight behind it, a lot of nerve-racking moments and a lot of anxiety, but that’s why we do the sport: to push ourselves.”

In her first title defense against longtime Rousey punching bag Tate, Holm dominated for most of the fight. But then Tate landed a last-ditch takedown and choked Holm out in one of the most improbable wins in UFC history.

With the hype surrounding Rousey and Tate, the world seemingly forgot about Holm — the woman who destroyed Rousey and clinically dismantled Tate for 4 ¹/2 rounds. She has a chance to change that Saturday night.

“My job is to make sure I stay focused on the important things,” Holm said. “I can’t think about my last fight or what comes next. You are never promised another opportunity. This could be it. Treat every fight like it’s your last fight because it could be. You never know.”