Holly Holm: Ronda Rousey Wasn’t Mentally Ready To Fight Again
Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm is currently preparing to attempt to make MMA history once again when she takes on Germaine de Randamie for the inaugural women’s 145-pound title in the main event of UFC 208.
Holm made herself well known to the mainstream mixed martial arts (MMA) world after she dismantled formerly dominant champion Ronda Rousey with a second-round head kick at UFC 193 in 2015, handing ‘Rowdy’ the first loss of her MMA career.
Since the historical victory, Holm has suffered two consecutive losses that have forced the Jackson-Wink product to regroup, as she now shifts her focus to heading the newest female weight division in the UFC.
As for Rousey, however, the former Olympic Judoka made her highly-anticipated return to Octagon action last month (Saturday, December 30, 2016) against current bantamweight champ Amanda Nunes after refusing to perform media obligations leading up to the championship contest. Nunes made quick work of Rousey once they took to the Octagon, finishing the fight in just 48 seconds with a TKO stoppage.
Recently speaking to MMA Fighting (via Bloody Elbow), Holm believes that Rousey’s reluctance to speak to the media leading up to the contest could have been a sign she was not in the right mental state to resume her combat sports career:
“I was a little worried about her mental game getting in there,” Holm said. “I know a lot of people said ‘no MMA media, none of that’, because she didn’t want any distractions. Well, I really hate to do all of it, but guess what, that’s what comes with the fight, and if I didn’t do it, I don’t even think I would be ready for the fight.”
‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ is a firm believer that if a fighter isn’t able to discuss their upcoming bout, then they probably aren’t ready to get in the cage and throw-down for 15 minutes or more:
“If you can’t even talk about it, if you can’t even be doing the normal thing leading up, I don’t think you’re really ready to get in there and actually fight. If you can’t really talk about it, how are you gonna get in and perform on it?”
“I’m kind of a believer in that. I feel like you have to be able to kind of face it, and sometimes I think if you’re trying to ignore those facts, I feel like the focus really isn’t there. So I was kind of worried if she gets in, is she really gonna be ready to just go, when she hasn’t really had to talk about it or face it or really get into it in that way.”
Holm and De Randamie will meet in the main event of UFC 208 live on pay-per-view (PPV) for the inaugural women’s featherweight title, from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on February 11, 2017.
