Holm: I’m not being rushed into title fight
Holly Holm: “If I would have felt like I should have said no, then when the next fight comes it would be, ‘Was I doubting myself before? Am I doubting myself now?’”
After only two fights in the UFC Octagon, bantamweight Holly Holm will next fight for the title against Ronda Rousey. Some fans and media have questioned whether or not she was deserving of the title fight and/or was being rushed in it, but if you ask her, she’ll tell you she was not rushed into it:
First off, there was no hesitation because I feel like that’s not a mental strength, Holm told MMAjunkie. You have to be mentally strong to get in there. When they called, it was like, ‘This is what’s next. Awesome.’ If I would have felt like I should have said no, then when the next fight comes it would be, ‘Was I doubting myself before? Am I doubting myself now?’ That’s just a not mentality I have in me, and I don’t choose to feel that way at all.
Holm said she knew the Rousey fight would eventually materialize. She didn’t know it would be this soon, but at 33 and with nearly 14 years of pro combat sports experience to her credit, there might be no better time for Holm to compete for the UFC’s grandest prize.
Did it come sooner than we would think? That’s not a lie to say yeah, it came soon, but I’m really excited for it, Holm said. There’s so many girls in the division, but guess what: Even before I signed with the UFC it was like, ‘Hey, when are you going to fight Ronda Rousey?’ Now we’ve got it scheduled and can really focus on it.
There’s been all these questions about it, but I’ve had all these other fighters in front of me. But I didn’t want to focus on anything but the fight that’s right in front of me. Now I can really focus and dive into this training camp, and I’m really excited for it.
