8 Things You Need to Know About Holly Holm
The new queen of UFC shocked the world when she beat Ronda Rousey, and now it’s her time to shine.
No one is invincible when it comes to combat sports like boxing and MMA. Just ask formerly unbeatable juggernauts like Mike Tyson, Roy Jones, Anderson Silva, or newly-dethroned UFC superstar Ronda Rousey.
We’re pretty sure Rousey’s conqueror Holly Holm will taste defeat again too, whether it’s at Rowdy’s vengeful hands or somebody else’s. But so far, so good. Here are eight things you really ought to know about the Albuquerque ass-kicker who shocked the world when she knocked out Rousey at UFC 193.
1. They call her “The Preacher’s Daughter.”
Yep, it’s true: her father, Roger Holm, is a preacher at Edgewood Church of Christ in Edgewood, N.M.
2. She’s a former boxing champion.
Holm, 34, is a two-time Ring magazine Female Fighter of the Year (2005, 2006) with a boxing career that included 33 wins (with 9 knockouts) to just 2 losses. She also has a 2-1 record in kickboxing. Holm jumped from boxing to MMA in 2011, and is since undefeated at 10-0.
3. She got into boxing through her love of aerobics.
“I started aerobics to keep in shape, saw the [kickboxing] class, thought it looked pretty cool, so I thought I’d try it for one fight and see what it was like,” says Holm. Your move, Richard Simmons.
4. She has a big fan in UFC great Jon Jones.
The former light-heavyweight champion, who trains with Holm at a New Mexico gym, gushed on Instagram that the new champ is “already the greatest of all time of women combat sports. She was considered the greatest female boxer to ever compete in that sport and now she has defeated the greatest female mixed martial arts fighter to date.”
5. She was a massive underdog.
The odds against Holm beating Rousey were 20:1 at their worst, but those smart enough to bet on her did so well that they devastated the Vegas sports books.
6. She’s cool under pressure.
Some of the gloating over Rousey’s loss can be attributed to her “rowdy” behavior toward Holm before the fight. They scuffled at the weigh-in, Rousey, and then refused to touch gloves in the Octagon. But at least they hugged it out after Rousey was brutally KO’d.
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7. She’s not above crying during interviews.
Watch Holm get teary when Fox Sports asks her what it felt like to win, even after “no one” believed she would. Just make sure you have a Kleenex handy.
8. She wants to fight Rousey again.
Shocking, right? Holm has said that Rousey“absolutely deserves a rematch,” as has UFC boss Dana White, so the big-money fight is definitely happening. Though perhaps not until UFC 200 in July 2016.
Let’s all do this again soon, OK?
Photos by Getty
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