Holy Holm out to make history

There are plenty of firsts taking place at UFC 193 November 14 in Melbourne, Australia. The pay-per-view event is the first featuring a main event and co-main of women. Eithad Stadium is playing host to Ronda Rousey versus Holly Holm in what could be the largest crowd to witness a UFC event.

c/o Gabriela Ochoa

While this is business as usual for the defending women’s bantamweight champion Rousey, for Holm this is the moment she’s been waiting for since signing with the promotion. The chance to prove she is the best in the world is something she seeks.

The former boxer captured and defended several world titles in a career that saw her do battle thirty eight times. That speaks volumes about her level of experience in championship fights. Now as a mixed martial artist she remains undefeated with a record of 9-0.

What makes Holm different is that the New Mexico fighter who trains at Jackson-Winkeljohn’s Mixed Martial Arts believes she has the skills and the plan to beat Rousey. Her experience and calm demeanor display an athlete who won’t be overwhelmed by the occasion. The help of her all-star teammates and trainers is something that has helped her prepare for the moment.

“If you don’t feel like you’re part of something special being around them then I don’t think anything is going to make you feel like you’re a part of something big. I am very blessed to be surrounded people that inspire me and who have been able to do it while keeping a level mind to it,” said Holm.

While most of the focus of the last week has been over Rousey’s comments of wanting to win a world title as a professional boxer, Holm can make history by being the first fighter to have held world titles in both boxing and mixed martial arts.

“That’s been my goal and vision from the beginning. I really enjoy this MMA thing but I don’t want to just do it to say I did both. I really want to conquer both, why not try to do something that hasn’t been done before. It’s given me a lot of drive and motivation,” said Holm.

c/o Gabriela Ochoa

Though her success in fighting may be of inspiration to many young female fighters and women, Holm is a person who says she wants to inspire everyone and anyone she can.

“It’s huge and I hope I can really make this happen. I think what has made this really possible is that I have been training under an MMA facility so I have been kind of engulfed in it for a while. I never did jiu-jitsu all those years of boxing but I feel like I have an understanding of it from just watching     my teammates and learning from them and what they were doing,” said Holm.

Her career has been anything but delayed. Since signing with the UFC she has had two fights and after defeating her opponents the question remained the same, when is the Rousey fight next.

c/o Gabriela Ochoa

“I feel like my career has been on the fast track and so has Ronda’s. She had her background in Judo and that’s what helped her be so successful and build on that to make a well-rounded MMA style. I feel like I have a good base of a lot of things because I had been around it and that’s good because it was an accelerated MMA career,” said Holm.

With her style of fighting and approach to winning her fight, Holm is content to disarm her opponents by using her skills and range. Imposing her style of fight and controlling the tempo.

“I do feel that I am more of a technical fighter. Some people love it and a lot of people hate it. You know they just want to see a slugfest and I love the sweet science. Even in my last fight against Marion Reneau, a lot of people were like do you think you could have done this or done that better to finish her earlier. I do wish I would have got more aggressive earlier so I could have finished her. She’s never been dominated like that in a fight ever. She’s always had good strong moments in a fight,” said Holm.

That style and ability is something that Holm takes pride in when she is able to dominate an opponent and take them out of their comfort zone while making them react to her.

Another factor is the ability to take it into the later rounds where conditioning could really factor. Something Holm is ready for based on her experience in boxing.

“I think you definitely have to get there and I know she’ll be ready and conditioned. I know it’s not familiar to her and it’s something that I know well, to be in deep waters,” said Holm.