Coach: Holly Holm broke Ronda Rousey

Mike Winklejohn appeared recently on Submission Radio and discussed his fighter Holly Holm, plus her next opponent Germaine de Randamie, her past opponent Ronda Rousey, and her potential future opponent Amanda Nunes. The UFC created the women’s bantamweight division for Ronda Rousey. That was a singular success. Then they created women’s featherweight for Cris Cyborg, but that got problematic.

Cyborg said she didn’t want to fight and then had an anti-doping test flagged. So the UFC moved on and improbably set up a featherweight title fight headlining UFC 208 between Holly Holm, on a two-fight losing streak, and de Randamie, who is ranked outside the top 10. Still, a massive opportunity opened up and Holm and de Randamie siezed it, to their lasting credit.

The coach was asked if he had wanted to see Holm move up a division.

I never knew it was going to be an option,” he replied. “Holly’s always boxed at higher weights. She’s always boxed at 140 or 147 or even 154. So going up in weight wasn’t really the issue, but it was never offered. Weight cuts have been kind of hard for us before in the past, I won’t lie. But Holly’s just very strong and she’s very determined and she’s honestly – she’s embarrassed by her last outing(s) and she wants to get back to the top. … In some ways I probably shouldn’t have let her fight, because there was a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes. But there’s no excuses for this one. She’s all in and she’ll be victorious.

“We’ve changed some things, quite a few things behind the scenes. So I think we’ll see an even new and improved Holly Holm and even better. I mean, you would think with all the fights she has, boxing and MMA-wise, that you’re gonna see the same Holly Holm, but she’s got some tricks up her sleeves too you haven’t seen.

“Germaine’s a world champion, undefeated kickboxer, Muay Thai fighter. So she can bang and she can come forward, she can pressure you, she hits hard and she’s very strong in the clinch, she will throw hard knees and they have made a difference in the fight. I know she’s working on her wrestling every day, so I expect a little of that in the fight as well. I think that the difference is gonna be Holly’s ability to change the fight depending on the situation. Holly’s got a lot of experience with movement and motion and I think that she’s a superior athlete.

I think Holly’s gonna wear her down and keep breaking her down. Holly’s never been known for her one-punch power, she’s been known for her kick power. Germaine keeps her hands up very well, so it’s going to be one of those things – breaking that body down, breaking that body down and eventually catching her with something. So my prediction is Holly stops her by fourth round. It’s gonna be a little later in the fight, but by the fourth round.

The coach is also interested in winning the bantamweight title again.

Oh absolutely,” he said. “That’d be fantastic. We can’t lose focus of where we’re at, but oh no, she wants to go back and get what she’s lost, what we lost by messing up on a few things. But that’s down the road and you can’t lose focus on the most important thing she has right now, which is Germaine.

Nunes has a similar intention to go after the other belt, which is eminently rational as it is being contested by lesser figures in her own division. However, that will not happen immediately.

I think Shevchenko needs to get a shot at Amanda Nunes first, just timeframe-wise, said coach Wink. “I think the best way to sell that between the two division champions, would be for each one to have another fight so they can start marketing that way more. After Holly wins the belt, I think I’d like to see her defend it once before she goes back and tries to win the 135-pound title.”

The coach was asked whether a fight with Cyborg is necessary to cement Holm as the top women’s featherweight.

Oh, yes and no,” he said. “You know what, if Cyborg can get off suspension for doing what she’s done – which is obvious – yeah Holly’s never turned down a fight in her life. In fact, we offered to fight Cyborg, she turned it down. So that’s where we’re at right now. So that’s not an issue for Holly Holm. She just wants to win the title right now with Germaine.

And they discussed a possible rematch with Ronda Rousey.

“I can’t see it happening now,” said Winklejohn. “It just absolutely can’t happen. I think Holly broke her. I think Ronda was on top of the world and Holly broke her, because when she came out for Amanda she just wasn’t the same fighter by any means. Not taking anything away from Amanda, but Ronda, she didn’t have anything, she just wasn’t there. She was just basically waiting for the end in essence once she couldn’t find a way to grab her. And she did the same thing she’s done before in the past, reaching out with her left arm and trying to corral. It was just a one-sided fight just like I said. I think she’s done.