UFC Should Play the Long Game with Holly Holm-Ronda Rousey Rematch

Sometimes, you have to act for the greater good. If you're the UFC, the rematch between Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm is one of those times.

I get the prevailing opinion: that UFC 200 this July is the time to do it. It's not a bad strategy. But is it really the very best strategy? Perhaps not. A little patience and vision can add big intrigue (and money) to the UFC women's bantamweight division for years, not months, to come. 

Let us explore how. Wait, let me back up a step first. The primrose path here is the aforementioned insta-rematch at UFC 200. It's the presumed, rumored and understandable target. In fact, Holm and her brain trust have already said an immediate rematch makes sense to them, and that they will grant one if asked. (Rousey, for her part, has said nothing either way, though it's a pretty safe bet she'd want to run it back.)

Holly Holm has no problem giving Ronda Rousey a rematch if that's what she wants https://t.co/oHOR9VMdMC http://pic.twitter.com/xj43TpIdhr

— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) November 19, 2015

Here's the thing, though: UFC 200 is going to be a big event no matter what. For reference, UFC 100 had two title fights and Brock Lesnar, who was maybe the UFC's biggest pre-Rousey crossover star. UFC 200 will follow suit. The milestone event will be a milestone event.

And that's exactly why you don't need to rush Rousey and Holm onto that card. Instead, play the long game for once. There are a million and one ways to stack UFC 200. Put Holm on there against, say, Miesha Tate, who said she's open to the idea. If not Tate, pick someone else, anyone besides Rousey. UFC 200 will pull a big number, even sans rematch.

Meanwhile, make Rousey earn her title shot with a tune-up fight whenever she's ready. That's an even better storyline than the immediate rematch: Fallen Star Begins Ascent Back to Top. With all the Rousey vitriol after the knockout at UFC 193, do you really think that storyline wouldn't hold interest? Who wouldn't tune in to watch Rousey tear apart whatever red meat the UFC deems fit to toss her? Do you really think she'd lose again? Heck, main-event a cable TV card with that fight and get yourself a record rating.

After that, you can do the big title match—Holm-Rousey II or Tate-Rousey III, only with Tate now holding the belt—late in 2016. Remember, too, that the Holm-Rousey rematch will interest people whenever it happens, belt or not.

And just like that, you've taken one big fight and turned it into three.

And another thing: By desperately rushing to make the immediate rematch, you're tacitly admitting that every UFC egg is in the Rousey basket. That undermines Holm, a talented and very popular new champion who could grow into a big draw on her own under the right conditions. Why not create those conditions?

An immediate rematch suggests that the UFC sees Holm's win as a wrong in need of righting. That stymies any potential marketability she may have on her own. Given her public reception after the win, there's reason to believe that potential is significant.

Bottom line: Instead of one huge golden goose in the women's bantamweight division, you now have two or three medium-sized golden geese. You're turning, let's say, 1 million pay-per-view buys for one event into 600,000 buys for two or three events. You're spreading out your chips—a particularly canny strategy considering Rousey seems inclined to retire in the not-unforeseeable future.

So let this thing breathe a little bit. Let it germinate. Let people wonder and let them find out. You've got everyone on the line. Take your time reeling them in.

Scott Harris writes about MMA for Bleacher Report. Follow Scott on Twitter if you feel so inclined.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com