Holly Holm has had a rough go inside the Octagon as of late.
“The Preacher’s Daughter” came into 2016 on an absolute high. After emerging victorious in her first two Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bouts, Holm received a women’s bantamweight title bout against Ronda Rousey.
Up to that point, “Rowdy” hadn’t lost and quickly became a sports icon, who crossed over to the mainstream media. Holm stunned Rousey with a second-round head kick knockout to capture the gold.
Holm was hit with a dose of harsh reality. In her first title defense, Holm was choked out by Miesha Tate in the final round at UFC 196. With her title lost, Holm tried to bounce back against Valentina Shevchenko. It didn’t work out for Holm, who was outgunned in a unanimous decision loss.
The former 135-pound queen admitted to FOX Sports that the events that transpired last year wasn’t what she hoped for:
“There’s a lot of pressure. What is Holly going to do now at 145 coming off two losses? She’s never been here before. She’s coming off the highlight of her career (against Ronda Rousey) to two losses in a row. The most unsuccessful year of my entire fighting career.”
Holm will be fighting Germaine de Randamie this Saturday night (Feb. 11) at UFC 208. “The Preacher’s Daughter” said she is hoping to avoid being known solely for her upset win over Rousey.
“I don’t want my whole career to be defined around getting the belt from Ronda. I want my career to be defined by me being the best fighter I can be and accomplishing the biggest things I can, from whatever competition comes in front of me. So I want this for me for my career. I don’t want it to just be around the one fight. I want them to remember everything after. I want to be able to do a lot in this career still.”
