A simple fact of motor learning is that Rhonda will likely not beat Holly in a rematch. Rhonda was exposed for what i've always said she was. A fantastic grappler and horrible striker. The thing is that motor learning and improving timing, accuracy and speed requires repetition. There is no way around this basic biological necessity. Motor movements speed up only as your brain builds the neurological circuitry to identify the stimulus, select the response and program/execute the response. That's how motor movements in open loop motor processes (dynamic, changing, unstable environment such as a fight, vs just hitting pads/bags) are executed.
Through repetition, all of the neurons involved in the feed-forward and feedback motor and sensory loops form closer associations for faster firing. Then the axons of the neurons begin wrapping with myelin which is not only a sheath around the axon, but it does 3 critical things. 1) it accelerates the signals by a factor of up to 100. 2) it better regulates the timing of signals and 3) improves the refractory period allowing neurons to fire up to 30X faster. If you're doing the math it means that a simple motor task has the potential for a 3000% improvement.
Fast forward to the 10,000 hr / 10 year rule of acquiring world class skill and expertise (Chase & Simon, K. Anders Ericsson). Every world class performer (chess, basketball, art, piano etc) has generally put in 10 years or more of a very specific kind of practice... highly focused, intensely engaged, critical of errors, self correcting etc often called "deliberate practice". WHat is happening is that the brain is building and honing and improving the neural circuitry and improving the general skill level. Being that these circuits are living, they grow and that takes time.
Myelin ONLY grows in direct response to the neurons being fired (repetitions)
Neuron showing myelin insulation around the axon - which protects the signal from bleeding out, accelerates the signal, times the signal and reduces the refractory period between firing.
What does this mean.???
Basically, Rhonda cannot improve her striking to the level of Holly IF Holly continues to train with the same focused passion, intensity and focus and with the same level of coaching (feedback and correction, proper session structure etc). Meaning that the disparity between skill levels of both athletes will mostly remain the same and only really narrow over a very long period of time (years) as they reach the upper limits of their neuro-physioligical capacities for improvement. Just as Rhonda has to continue building her neural circuitry for better striking, footwork, head movement, defense, countering etc... Holly is doing the same.
There is no steroid or drug to improve the rate of motor learning. This means that Rhonda is where she is in her skill level and Holly where she is in her skill level. Rhonda will improve her fighting striking (which is a million miles behind Holly) and Holly will continue to develop and refine her striking skills.... causing a situation where Rhonda can't catch her.
Another fun fact of fighting. Rhonda is a great grappler. However, grappling takes a VERY long time to learn and is very tedious. This is try for a simple reason... you are extremely limited in the total number of reps you can attempt per session. For example, i might throw 2500 uppercuts in an hour doing drills - but you can't do 2500 armbars in an hr. This is why you can master a style of karate in a year and when putting in that same amount of time in BJJ, you won't even be 1/2 way to black belt level.
What doesn't take a long time to learn? Things you can do with a high degree of accuracy and repeat quickly, rep after rep after rep. Things that you can do the most repetitions. It is infinitely easier to teach take down defense by a BJJ practitioner/grappler than it is to teach grappling. Holm also demonstrated that simple fact. She was taken down, she defended herself, she srambled and escaped and got back to her feet. She can only improve dramatically in this area which again presents a major problem for Rhonda and a rematch.
So... here is what happens in a rematch.
Rhonda and Edmond realize that they need to be more patient, they need to slow down, to be more technical in striking, develop better footwork, keep her hands up, chin down etc etc etc and try to clean up her striking. It won't matter. It won't matter just for the same reasons it didn't help Barao against Dillashaw. Rennan was completely out-classed in striking in the first fight and got dominated for 5 rounds for the first time in his life. They went away and trained to emulated Dillashaw more... getting his feet moving etc. BUT... this fight again exposed an unfortunate truth of motor learning.... Rennan came out, light on his feet, not flat footed, moving etc... he again got popped in the first couple exchanges and did what? He went right back to doing what he's done for 15 years. That is because those neural circuits are dominant. They are highly honed... they form the "comfortable behaviors" or "natural behaviors". He got popped a few times, went back to the exact same person he was in the first fight and again got dominated and destroyed in what looked like a replay of the first fight.
Rhonda doesn't have time to catch up in striking. There is nothing she can do to improve her striking to a meaningful level against a many time world champion boxer/muay thai fighter but Holly can see very quick improvements in take down defense and escapes. Unless Rhonda gets lucky and connects, the fight will most likely go just like Dillashaw / Barao 2, for the exact same reasons.
Furthermore, Greg Jackson and Winklejohn are people that actually understand how to coach, actually understand how to teach, actually understand motor learning and actually understand how to maximize learning velocity. This is super critical - motor learning and skill development isn't about feel good moments of hitting the pads fast and hard. Pads don't hit back and have nothing to do with actual fighting.