M.T. Phone Holm

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate recently announced that she was making her return to mixed martial arts (MMA) at the upcoming “Fight Night” event on July 17 at APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.

And yes, Holly Holm took notice.

Probably because “The Preacher’s Daughter” lost her 135-pound strap to “Cupcake” when they went to war in the UFC 196 pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event back in early 2016, the first defeat of Holm’s professional MMA career.

“My plan is to compete for the belt, so if that fight ends up being on the way there, then absolutely,” Holm said during an ESPN+ Q&A hosted by Laura Sanko (transcribed by MMA Junkie). “I always like to avenge losses no matter what, so yes, I would like to do that, but I think sometimes you can get so fixated on one fight that you’re not focused on whatever is coming your way.”

Holm, who turns 40 in October, has gone 4-4 since losing to Tate and was expected to face Julianna Pena in her next outing; however, “The Preacher’s Daughter” was felled by a medical condition and the bout was delayed.

Tate, meanwhile, has not competed since dropping back-to-back fights to Amanda Nunes and Raquel Pennington in the second half of 2016.

“Whatever gets you to the belt, that’s my ultimate goal and it would be awesome if I could go through and do it all,” Holm said. “Avenge my loss (to Tate), then go to the belt.”

Marion Reneau may have something to say about that.