Fighters say there’s more to UFC than Ronda Rousey

As the minutes ticked down to UFC 194 at MGM Grand on Saturday night, there was anxiety among some company executives and mixed martial arts enthusiasts about how the night’s result would shape the sport’s future.

Last month, UFC’s top draw, Ronda Rousey, suffered a stunning knockout loss by head kick to Holly Holm, and now the next-best fan favorite, Irish featherweight Conor McGregor, was staring at his most demanding bout yet.

McGregor’s title shot against the UFC’s top pound-for-pound fighter and division champion, Jose Aldo of Brazil, was not complete at press time. See latimes.com/sports for full coverage.

Earlier Saturday, the UFC wanted to reinforce the quality of its stable and its 2016 fights, summoning reporters to spend time with a collection of talent, including Holm, heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum, bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw and welterweight champion Carlos Condit.

“The UFC’s in fine shape. We have a ton of quality fighters,” said Dillashaw, a former Cal State Fullerton wrestler. “The only difference is they might want to start putting the money behind other fighters, not just pumping the hype train.

“Ronda Rousey ... the hype is for a reason, but if they spread the wealth a bit ... you know, upsets are going to happen.

“And it doesn’t mean the big-name fighters who lose are going away. Ronda Rousey still will have big fights. It’s a great sport.”

The anticipated Holm-Rousey rematch is being aimed for July 9 at the new Las Vegas arena even though Holm’s manager said last week he hoped for a sooner fight. UFC President Dana White rejected that suggestion.

“Nothing’s set in stone. I’ll see how it unfolds,” Holm said. “I’d like to fight sooner rather than later, but I’ve never once in my life said, ‘I want to fight this person at this time.’ I don’t like to wait eight months, but I’m not going to demand anything different.”

Dillashaw has a Jan. 17 title defense against former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz of San Diego that will be surrounded by Lawler’s year-opening defense against former title challenger Carlos Condit on Jan. 2, and Werdum’s heavyweight title rematch against ex-champion Cain Velasquez on Feb. 6.

“Always trying to get better and improve,” Velasquez said Saturday after blaming the high altitude of Mexico City for his upset loss to Werdum this year. “Fabricio is strong everywhere and I expect an improved Fabricio, but it’s a fight I expect to win.”

Werdum, a jiujitsu specialist who trains in Huntington Beach, spoke not only of the excitement of the rematch against two-time champion Velazquez, but the possibility of an even bigger fight, perhaps a year from now.

“One day, I want to fight Jon Jones,” Werdum said.

The former light-heavyweight champion, Jones is being pointed to an April 23 return at Madison Square Garden, which would mark his return from drug issues and his hit-and-run car crash that injured a pregnant woman in New Mexico.

The UFC hasn’t announced it yet, but the organization is hopeful that by next month it wins a court ruling that would allow for it to have a debut fight in New York that probably would have Jones’ rematch with now-champion Daniel Cormier as its main event.

“My goal is to fight Jones. He can fight at the heavyweight division. He’s 6-feet-4, very strong and big now,” Werdum said. “It’d be an amazing fight, a super-fight. Jon Jones is welcome to the heavyweight division. The fans will want to watch this, they’d love this fight.”

For now, Werdum said he doesn’t accept any of Velazquez’s elevation excuses about the loss. Werdum played an audio recording he kept from a Velazquez coach talking about how the former champion declined to train in Mexico City weeks earlier before their fight, as Werdum did, then said the fighter was fine just before the bout.

“The altitude was the same for both. Mark that,” Werdum said. “Cain’s an amazing fighter, but I know I’ll beat him again. My goal now is to be the best heavyweight ever.”

The UFC is touting improved drug testing and weight-cutting procedures in place — no fighter in the UFC’s three cards this week missed weight.

That, along with new attention to safer training methods and supervised rehabilitation from injury, brings optimism from organization leaders that 2016 will be a strong campaign.

Women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk will have a rematch with Claudia Gadelha next, but she said Saturday she anticipates a healthy rest and watching some of these bouts.

“Sure, I love watching these fighters,” Jedrzejczyk said. “The UFC is like one big family.”

Follow Lance Pugmire on Twitter @latimespugmire