Preacher’s Daughter to Unleash Holy Hell on Bellator MMA Tonight
Holly Holm hopes to make Katie Merrill pray for death.
Holly Holm hopes to make Katie Merrill pray for death.
Photo by Kim Jew
She may be “the preacher’s daughter,” but wait until you get Holly Holm in the ring—then she’s a fierce competitor who wants to win! “I want to beat them and I want to beat them bad!” she quipped.
Holm, a multi-time world championship boxer from New Mexico, will be showing off her mixed martial arts skills in tonight’s fight against Katie Merrill on Spike TV’s Bellator MMA Live #807.
Holm acknowledged that women’s MMA is surpassing women’s boxing in terms of popularity. “Women’s MMA is definitely more on a fast-paced rise. And I think it’s just going to get bigger and bigger, so there will be many more opportunities with MMA, whereas women’s boxing has always had its ups and downs.”
What’s it going to take to get the momentum back to women’s boxing? “I don’t really know,” said Holm. “Finding more women that are exciting to watch. There are a lot of champions out there already, so hopefully the audience will take notice. But I don’t really pay attention to the promotional aspects of boxing, I just concentrate on my training.”
Holm’s dad has been a preacher his whole life. “I never really wanted a nickname, and they kept giving me weird, different ones which I said no to. And they said, ‘What are we supposed to call you then?!’ I said, ‘Can’t I just be Holly Holm!? What’s wrong with that?!’ But they really thought I needed one, so finally we settled on ‘the preacher’s daughter,’ which is just what I am in life, so I thought we might as well go that route!”
In addition to the support of her friends and family, Holm also cites her coach, Mike Winkeljohn, for being integral to her success. “Mike has taught me not only focus and technical skills but guidance overall in my life, outside of the ring. I feel really lucky.”
While Holm is a beautiful blonde snowboarder with a lot to offer, sadly, she is off the market (sorry guys!). “I’ve been married 10 months now. I met him through mutual friends and then talked to each other at the gym. It’s appealing that he has been involved with sports; it’s nice to have similar interests. He has really been so supportive with my career and that’s so important.”
But she does have advice for Maxim readers, should you meet a hot, uber-athletic boxing/MMA chick at the gym: “Be yourself. No need to feel intimidated by us. We’re still women, we just have a passion!”
And if you want to learn MMA yourself, Holm has one important tip: “Be patient. Take one step at a time. You just can’t push too hard too fast!”
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