It’s amazing how much difference a couple of days can make in the headlines. Just a few short days ago MMA fans were excited about the prospect of having a new contender to Ronda Rousey’s dominant reign as the UFC women’s bantamweight champion. That contender was none other than Holly Holm.

Holm, who is scheduled to fight Juliana Werner in a few weeks for the Legacy FC bantamweight title, is a heavy handed boxer turned MMA athlete who has had great amounts of success in both fields. Holm (33-2-3 as a professional boxer) has incredible knockout power which has been on display in her six professional mixed martial arts bouts with five having ended via KO or TKO. She is truly the type of female fighter that could make Matt Brown eat his words about the girls not having any knockout power.

A few days ago the story broke that the UFC and Holm were closing in on a deal that would see the fast rising bantamweight in the Octagon in the near future. Fast forward a couple of days and it sounds like there’s a great deal of negotiating left to be done before Holm’s management and the UFC are going to be on the same page.

Lenny Fresquez, who is Holm’s manager and primary negotiator in this potential deal, said in recent interview with MMAJunkie.com that he believes a fight between his client and Rousey could be “the biggest women’s fight in the history of any type of women’s [combat] sports.” Fresquez also said “I just want to make sure Holly gets her share.” However, it appears as though whatever his idea of fair compensation is simply isn’t in line with that of the UFC’s.

Dana White, President of the UFC, was quoted yesterday as having said that negotiations were, “Not good at all” and that the UFC was simply “Not interested anymore.” This kind of a reaction is not something we haven’t seen before from the UFC brass and it’s moved in different directions over time.

Most recently, White became quite frustrated with negotiations regarding one Gilbert Melendez and made a similar claim of disinterest when the UFC and Melendez’s representation couldn’t seem to get on the same page. The Melendez negotiations rebounded and the two sides were able to reach a middle ground. Negotiations gone sour between the UFC and fighter’s management teams do not always have happy endings, however it’s plausible that Mr. White’s assertion is accurate and that Ms. Holm will not be in a UFC octagon anytime soon.

As a fan, I am hopeful that the two parties represented can come to an understanding and work out a deal for the 32-year-old Holm. I think that a fight between Rousey and a heavy handed boxer with well-rounded skills could make for an interesting contest. How good is Rousey’s chin when facing a boxing world champion? Can Holm do what no other woman has been able to do and avoid being thrown on her back and toyed with by Rousey? Their chemistry combined with both womens’ marketability could make for a great experience for fans and fighters alike. The women’s bantamweight division needs more depth and it needs it quickly. Hopefully a compromise is in the near future and the headlines of today will be negated by those of tomorrow.