After Holly Holm’s shocking upset over Ronda Rousey at UFC 193, her teammate Jon Jones came out and called her the greatest of all time in women’s combat sports. It’s high praise from an extremely talented fighter who may just be the greatest of all time in MMA in general, and Holm’s more than appreciative for the support from someone at that level.
“First with Jon, his faith and confidence in me doing well is something that was instrumental in even just being successful in this fight,” Holm said in an interview with FoxSports.com. “He’s been a great teammate, very supportive, had really good input [and] even advice on the fight.
“He has the same coaches that I do and he’s been able to take what they taught and really perform it beautifully. He has a perfect mind for fighting so I love to pick his brain sometimes so I’m very humbled and very flattered by his kind words. So I really appreciate him very, very much.”
Holm feels she’s hit a major moment in her overall career with what happened at UFC 193, and though she believes there’s still more to be done, this title win is something special.
“As far as myself what I’m proud for is that I do feel like I’ve accomplished a lot,” Holm said. “I never feel finished, but I do feel like I accomplished something. I feel like I’m pretty prideful about the fact that I’m the only one that’s been able to get world titles in both and boxing and MMA at the elite level with the top ranked fighters.
“That’s something with belt or no belt, I just love that. I can take that with me through life and know that I really challenged myself. I didn’t stay where I was comfortable. I put myself out there.”
Penick’s Analysis: Holm’s UFC 193 win was one for the ages. It’s a moment that deserves to become an iconic piece of the sport’s history, and is almost assuredly going to become just that. She’s done something great and unprecedented given her accomplishments prior to MMA, and Jones likely isn’t the only one who feels the way he expressed about what she’s done. For her sake, hopefully it’s something she can continue to build upon.
[Photo (c) Matt Roberts via USA Today Sports]
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