LOS ANGELES – Holly Holm is only a few days away from her first octagon outing since losing the UFC’s women’s bantamweight title to Miesha Tate, who’s now a fellow ex-champ.

Although Saturday’s UFC on FOX 20 bout against fellow headliner Valentina Shevchenko (12-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) is Holm’s (10-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) immediate challenge, that didn’t stop her from being asked the ever-present question when it comes to the UFC’s top female 135-pounders: “Would you fight Cristiane Justino?”

And Holm’s answer – albeit not particularly enthusiastic – was yes.

“It’s always an option,” Holm told reporters ahead of Saturday’s FOX-televised UFC on FOX 20 event at United Center in Chicago. “I really like ‘Cyborg.’ I love to watch her fight. I love her as a person. She’s awesome. I consider her a friend. And she’s the same as myself though, that the opportunity is there, we’d take the fight.”

Holm’s management had spoken about passing up on the offer to fight Justino (16-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) in her promotional debut, which took place at UFC 198, citing Holm’s focus on reclaiming the belt that now belongs to Amanda Nunes. At the occasion, Justino ended up taking on Leslie Smith – whom she had no trouble getting past in little more than a minute – in a 140-pound catchweight affair.

Holm confirmed her lack of interest in the matchup at the time, but she hasn’t ruled out a future encounter.

“I had the belt, lost it, and then I wanted to rematch,” Holm said. “They had talked about the fight when she fought in Brazil, at catchweight. If the fight is right and the time is right, then great – I’m open to it. But we’ll see.”

More than a matter of simple scheduling, there’s the issue of Justino’s actual placement among the UFC’s women’s divisions. The Invicta FC 145-pound champion had a tough enough time making the 140-pound catchweight limit for her UFC debut – and has since said she’d probably only make it again if either Ronda Rousey or a belt were involved.

On her end, Holm would consider taking the bout at a heavier weight. Granted, of course, the proper conditions.

“I guess it depends on when the fight comes,” Holm said. “The right fight, the right time – I’m not against it. But right now, part of my goal is to get back to the belt, and the belt is at 135 (pounds). So I think that’s probably the biggest kind of thing.

“But that doesn’t mean I’m against the fight with ‘Cyborg.’ I’m open to it. But I’m still with Valentina on my mind. There’s a lot of ‘if this and that’ that can happen in between fights.”

Check out the video above for more on Holm’s future plans.

And for more on UFC on FOX 20, check the UFC Rumors section of the site.