The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women's bantamweight division is like the wild west, or perhaps more like the Land Run of 1893, as female combatants of the 135-pound variety charge the wide open plain recently vacated by Ronda Rousey.
What a difference eight months can make.
"Rowdy" was the promotion's first women's bantamweight champion and for awhile there, seemed like she would retire as the only women's bantamweight champion. But then Holly Holm came along and reminded the mixed martial arts (MMA) community that nothing in this sport ever goes according to plan.
That includes the UFC on FOX 20 main event, where the aforementioned Holm -- a betting favorite against Valentina Shevchenko last Saturday night (July 23, 2016) in Chicago, Illinois -- was shut down across five rounds en route to a unanimous decision loss.