Each week, ESPN.com writer and MMA Live Extra analyst Brett Okamoto provides his take on the hottest topics in the world of mixed martial arts.
This week, Okamoto squares off with former Bellator lightweight contender Josh Thomson to debate the latest news and trends. Thomson, 37, a former Strikeforce champion, returns to the cage on Dec. 4 against Pablo Villaseca at Bellator 147.
1. Two weeks after her historic win, Holly Holm remains the hottest topic in MMA. Could she ever rival the level of star power Ronda Rousey had established going into their fight?
Thomson: I've always felt this way: The media train, if it gets behind any of them, it can make celebrities. It doesn't matter. You saw it with [former UFC lightweight champion] Anthony Pettis. Had he beat Rafael dos Anjos [n March], the media would probably still be running with him. The guy got put on the Wheaties box, I believe. Look, the media train, if they want to get behind you and want to promote you, you'll know. And if they don't, then you'll know that, too. That stuff, that's part of what I've been trying to say about my own career. I felt, from the beginning, that if I wasn't going to get pushed and promoted then I should go somewhere else. That's why I've always done what's in my best interest. But you'll know if they want to put the money behind you to promote you, you'll know.
Okamoto: [Holm] and the UFC are making the most of her win. That's for sure. And she seems to be making friends in high places, which is big. As Thomson alluded to, if you get the right people and the right organizations interested in your fights, the masses will follow. At the same time though, no. This isn't a knock on Holm, it's just reality: She doesn't possess the same marketability Rousey had (and still has). She has made the jump to the second-most popular female fighter in the world, but she's still well behind Rousey in that regard. Her knockout against Rousey produced a stunning highlight and she'll continue to add to that highlight reel, but her style is geared more toward volume and longer fights (she has never finished an MMA opponent in the first round). She's a special fighter in that division, obviously, and she's definitely a strong asset for the UFC -- but no, it's unrealistic to expect her to ever sell the way Rousey did.
2. In the wake of Rousey losing, what does 2016 hold for Cris "Cyborg" Justino?
Thomson: I don't really know. They've been talking about a Rousey-Justino fight for years and I don't really see it ever happening. There's so much hype around it, but the problem is it's made-up hype. I don't think it ever has the potential to come to fruition. How do you compare these fighters when the weight classes don't exist? In the UFC there's 135 and 115. That's it. I don't know if they're talking about adding 125. You don't know, though. It's hard to compare them.
Okamoto: It is so difficult to predict because Justino's attitude toward a weight cut seems to change constantly. Here's the bottom line on Justino, and it has been this way for a while now. She has been dealt an unfortunate hand in that her natural weight class essentially consists of her -- and that's it. She is marketable and I am still pretty much certain she will eventually fight in the UFC, but it remains highly contingent on her at least trying to make 140 pounds (and if she can then cut further to 135? Even better). That's not a fair scenario for Justino, to basically have to cut to a weakened state to be in the UFC, but that's the reality. You can't argue the fact it doesn't make sense for the UFC to open a 145-pound division when there is no one to fill it. My guess is Justino does make an appearance in the UFC in 2016, but her status is very much up in the air. She doesn't even know at what weight she'll compete in a scheduled fight in January.
3. Whose comeback are you more interested in: Rousey or Jon Jones?
Thomson: I would have to say Ronda. Jon Jones' was self-inflicted so I really don't want to put any hype around that. I think when he comes back he'll come back. With Ronda, you always want to see how a fighter deals with adversity as far as a loss, especially with the fashion in which she lost. You want to see how they'll come back from it. I think that's what we're going to find out with her, if she's a true fighter or not and I believe she is. Whether she can get the win or not I don't know, but I'm sure she's going to be back and be back impressively. She's a savage, man. There's nothing you can take away from her. She beat everyone except for Holly. Honestly, I feel a little like women's MMA hasn't evolved to the point where all the women have caught up, but she faced somebody in Holly who had been fighting in combative sports for years. She got beat by someone who has been training this way her whole life. It's going to be interesting to see now what Ronda does.
Okamoto: Rousey, 10,000 percent. And for the same reasons Thomson mentioned. Jones' issues were self-inflicted. Despite his absence from the sport -- which, really, was very brief in the grand scheme of things -- Jones is still viewed as the No. 1 light heavyweight in the world. Possibly the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He is heavily favored to reclaim his title against Daniel Cormier when they fight. Don't get me wrong, I'm still extremely interested in Jones' comeback as far as putting aside his issues outside of the cage and saving his legacy as the greatest ever. That's a huge story in MMA. But Rousey's shattered invincibility is far more interesting to me. Will she switch camps? Just how shaken is her confidence? How much can she improve and change in time for a rematch against Holm?
4. Longtime lightweights Benson Henderson and Jorge Masvidal will meet at welterweight at Saturday's UFC Fight Night. Who has a better chance of making a run, should they remain at 170?
Thomson: Honestly, both. Benson can put the muscle and weight on pretty easily, but Masvidal is just a big guy, naturally. I think they can both carry the weight pretty well. If I had to lean toward anyone staying at welterweight long-term, probably Masvidal. He's just naturally a bigger guy I believe. His body size is bigger.
Okamoto: I tend to agree with Thomson on this as well -- they're comparable in size but Masvidal is slightly bigger and longer. I also think stylistically, Masvidal might have a better transition in the long run. Henderson is such a smart, well-rounded fighter he'll have success in either weight class, but I think he's at his best when he's physical. One of the things that made him so successful at lightweight was the ability to push the pace as the bigger man. At welterweight, that physical style obviously won't be as effective and he'll have to choose his battles more in terms of coming forward. Masvidal has more knockout power and has historically relied less on offensive wrestling than Henderson has. Long-term, I think Masvidal is slightly better suited for 170, but it's close.
5. Which Bellator MMA champion has the best chance of holding onto his belt through 2016?
Thomson: If it's going to be anybody, it would probably be Will Brooks. He's possibly the only one I think has a good grasp on his title. Given that he has beaten [Michael] Chandler twice, it's probably him. I haven't seen enough of his fights to see a whole lot of weaknesses. I know he's very talented and I've talked with people who have trained with him before and they say he's a quick learner, very athletic. Other than that, you know, I really couldn't tell you. Out of the champions right now, he seems to have the strongest grasp on his title.
Okamoto: Brooks is definitely up there, although he potentially has some very tough fights -- one of which, could be Thomson. I think the answer here is Daniel Straus though, which is somewhat surprising because Bellator's featherweight division is certainly not its weakest. But perhaps even more so than Brooks, I trust Straus in the matchups he's most likely looking at in 2016. There's not any one particular style Straus is going to have issues with and he has gotten the job done already in fights against the best in his division (Patricio Freire and Pat Curran). You can argue in favor of some of the other champs due to the lack of depth in their divisions, but if I'm putting my money down on this, I want it to be on a truly elite fighter and that comes down to Straus and Brooks. I'll take Straus.