The preliminary effort to stage a superfight between Katie Taylor and legendary former UFC champion Ronda Rousey has stalled to the point that Taylor is pursuing a new path for her next fight, officials connected to the situation have told BoxingScene.

As first reported by BoxingScene this month, negotiations between the pair were launched amidst an effort to propose the bout to Netflix and split the purse money evenly between the undisputed 140lbs boxing champion Taylor, 25-1 (6 KOs), and former UFC bantamweight champion Rousey, 38, who only lost in the octagon to all-time-great Amanda Nunes and boxing Hall of Famer Holly Holm.

Taylor’s focus, ironically, will likely turn next to the 44-year-old Holm, 34-2-3 (9 KOs), who returned to boxing after a 12-year absence (that included her Hall of Fame induction ceremony) with an impressive unanimous-decision victory on a Most Valuable Promotions card headlined by Jake Paul.

Holm defeated Yolanda Vega 100-90 on all three scorecards on June 28, landing a WBA women’s lightweight title shot versus champion Stephanie Han January 3 in Puerto Rico – a card also promoted by Paul’s MVP.

Given that Netflix attracted 6 million global views for Taylor’s trilogy fight earlier this year versus Amanda Serrano, it’s conceivable that a Taylor showdown against the well-known Holm will also be presented as an option for Netflix to stream. Holm’s fight versus Han will be streamed by DAZN.

The skepticism of Taylor-Rousey from the likes of Rousey’s former boss at UFC, Dana White, along with Most Valuable Promotions’ head Nakisa Bidarian was rooted in the fact that neither expected Rousey to return from such a lengthy layoff in real combat sports to meet the twice-undisputed champion Taylor.

Taylor, 39, was enthused by the prospect, and would likely still entertain a future meeting in the ring given her immense respect for Rousey, who reigned as UFC champion from 2012-2015, dominating many fights thanks to her Olympic judo skills – she won a bronze medal – and applying the famed armbar.

“[Rousey’s] an iconic figure herself in female sport,” Taylor told BoxingScene earlier this month in Thailand at the WBC Convention. “She has an amazing mentality. You don’t get to the position she’s in without a fantastic mind, without a fantastic mentality. 

“It’s just a very interesting fight. Seeing all the headlines, I was thinking, ‘OK, I’m up and ready for this fight.’

“It’s a fight that will interest and capture the imagination of the fans and that’s what boxing needs. I’d be very, very happy to fight Ronda. I’m very open to these kinds of fights where all generations can sit down and watch boxing.

“I’m very, very open… to fighting Ronda Rousey.”

Yet, Rousey’s ability to dictate any potential return on her own terms after previous employment at WWE and UFC, which are now entering boxing under the new promotion Zuffa Boxing, gives her the freedom to move at her own pace and explore all business opportunities.

As for Taylor, she’s been out of the ring since her July 11 majority decision victory over Serrano at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, and she’d like to fight by summer 2026.