This past Saturday in the main event of UFC Vegas 55, a potential bantamweight title shot was on the line. Former bantamweight champion Holly Holm (14-6) was returning to the octagon for the first time since October 2020 to take on Ketlen Vieira (13-2).
Both fighters were coming off big wins coming into UFC Vegas 55. Holly Holm was coming off of a dominant win over Irene Aldana while Ketlen Vieira was coming into Saturday on the heels of beating former UFC champion Miesha Tate.
In the first round, Holly Holm did a good job implementing her game plan. She struck effectively and she did a good job of getting some cage control throughout the first round. All three judges awarded her the first round.
In the middle rounds, Ketlen Vieira saw some success. In the second round, she almost finished the former UFC champion with a a standing guillotine. However, Holm fought through it and the fight continued.
In the fifth round, Holm was once again really good with her strikes and cage control. Again, all three judges gave her the final round. With that, it came down to the three middle rounds. Two judges gave all three to Vieira while one gave one round to Holm which resulted in a split decision win for Vieira.
What’s next after UFC Vegas 55?
Holly Holm was visibly upset when the scores were read on Saturday night. She won two rounds pretty clearly and all three middle rounds were pretty competitive. From control to striking, Holm won every statistic by a wide margin.
Of course, you could say that Vieira landed the more damaging strikes at UFC Vegas 55. You wouldn’t be wrong in stating that, however, when you look at the states and everything as a whole, it’s puzzling to think that Vieira got her hand raised on Saturday night.
However, that’s judging for you. Now, the 40-year-old Holm must think about what’s next. What should the UFC do with her next? Well, I don’t think she’ll lose much ground in the division. In fact, given the state of 135 pounds, she might be in line for a title eliminator next.
I would love to see her in a rematch with Germaine De Randamie. GDR stated over the weekend that she wasn’t retired and she would be returning. Her and Holm once fought for the UFC featherweight title with De Randamie getting the win.
I think it’s a good time to run this one back with the winner getting a title shot at 135 pounds.