Holly Holm

Holly Holm
Holly Rene Holm-Kirkpatrick is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championshipbantamweight division. She is the former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion. Holm is also a former professional boxer and kickboxer. She was a multiple-time world champion in boxing, defending her titles 18 times in three weight classes, and was a two-time Ring magazine fighter of the year...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMMA Fighter
Date of Birth17 October 1981
CityAlbuquerque, NM
CountryUnited States of America
It doesn't matter what odds are on paper or what's happened before. It matters what happens that moment.
There's a ton of nerves for every fight I've been in; it doesn't matter if it was my debut.
There's days in training where everything flows and days in training where they don't. You just pray that doesn't happen the night of the fight.
A lot of times, fighters get not only physically tired but mentally exhausted. It's like a chess match - you're thinking of offense and defense at the same time. It's almost exhausting to think about it. After a while, you just go, 'I'll move my pawn.' A lot of times in fights, people get exhausted, and they're just sick of trying to focus on it.
A rematch is one of those things that will always be there when you remove a champion, and it's something you definitely need to give them - that chance for a rematch. That's the only way to do it.
I have a different kind of experience than other girls had. I've had to face a lot of different styles and adjust to them. I had to face a lot of bad situations and come back. I've had to fight with my eyes swollen shut and my nose broken and bloody.
I think sometimes in life we rush and only later look back and say, 'Wow, that was something pretty cool that I did,' and we realize we should have been more aware while it was happening.
I'd see people being really successful, whether it was my teammates or big-name fighters like Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson, and I'd think, 'I want to be a legend like that.'
I'm always open to suggestions. I'm open to opportunities. Whether I take them or not, I don't know. And I would only take them if I weren't training, if I didn't have a fight scheduled. I really want to keep my focus on fighting. That's where all these doors are opening up from anyways. I don't want to lose sight of that. I love fighting.
I'm glad people think that I can do well. I always say I would rather that be the scenario than on the other end of it saying, 'We thought she'd be real crappy.' I'll take the side that I'm on. I'll take that people think that I'm going to do well; they have faith in me and believe in me, and that makes me feel stronger.
Some people feel stronger in their 30s. I'm 34. I've noticed I do feel stronger now than when I was 24. But I'm also more sore in the mornings. If I have a bump or a bruise from practice, it takes me a little bit more than just an ice bath to get rid of it. At the end of the week, my body's ready for a day off.
There's a lot of criticism in this job and what we do. It's in front of everybody and for everybody to have their own opinion about what we do. Don't be in this position if you can't handle that criticism.
When I don't have a fight scheduled, training is even more fun. I can come into the gym and work on stuff that isn't generated for a specific game plan. I can just play around with it and have a good time. I never want to get to the point where I'm sick of it.
When people are self-entitled for no reason, just with anything, that bothers me. It's like waiting for someone to cross the road, and they walk slower because they know you're waiting. I like all the credit due in the places that it's supposed to be due.