MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 16: UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey (L) faces off against Holly Holm during the UFC 193 media event at Etihad Stadium on September 16, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) (2015 Zuffa LLC)
Holly Holm is ready to take on the challenge of trying to beat Ronda Rousey in the ring.
The former undisputed welterweight boxing champion has received advice – some solicited from her veteran mixed martial arts trainers and some unsolicited from fans – to craft a fight plan that she hopes will shake up Rousey.
“I don’t know how much she really wants to box,” Holm told the Los Angeles Times during a luncheon on Monday about her “open-ended” plan for the fight. “She’s improved a lot ... but everyone has their go-to ... natural habits. I expect her to come hard.”
Holm, 34, will take on the undefeated UFC bantamweight champion Rousey, 28, on Nov. 14 in Melbourne, Australia.
She also took exception to comments Rousey made recently.
Last week, Rousey claimed Holm would “be happier” if she loses their fight.
“I don’t think she would be comfortable with it,” Rousey told reporters, when asked to compare her own high-profile routine to Holm’s relative anonymity. “It would take away from her quality of life. I don’t think it is for some people.”
She continued: “This kind of an environment is not what Holly would like. I hope that she takes whatever she gets for losing and has a life that she would like a lot more than this. With Holly I will genuinely be happy for her and hope that she accepts her loss in a healthy way and enjoys all the benefits that she got from this fight.”
Holm insists the comments are a sign of Rousey’s insecurity.
“I would not be happier if I lost. That’s kind of the new thing she’s been saying,” Holm told reporters Monday, according USA Today. “Maybe it’s coming from a place where she has a lot of pressure and media attention on her. She might be thinking it is a lot to handle, and maybe she is thinking no one else can do what [she does]. Trust me, with a win, I will be able to handle it.”
Ahead of the fight, Holm feels very confident thanks to the help from her trainers former light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones and UFC great Georges St-Pierre.
“Their confidence in me gives me confidence. They have been around so many big fights. They’re serious with you. I’m glad,” she said, the L.A. Times reported. “I don’t want them to sugar-coat anything. They’re confident in me, but they also want to make sure they’re helping me to prepare.”
She said her occasionally nervous demeanor should not be taken as a sign of weakness.
“I am always nervous, it doesn’t matter what fight it is,” Holm told USA Today. “Every fighter has their strengths, anything can happen in there. If I didn’t have nerves, it would be like I didn’t care if I win or lose. It is natural. I know I have big things ahead of me.”
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