Coach Mike Winkeljohn: "Holly Holm is one fight away from another shot at the UFC title"

April 30, 2020

Although there are many upcoming MMA women fighters in the UFC, Holly Holm, the long-time veteran and former champion in the bantamweight division, is definitely making a comeback of sorts, and could be just one fight away from getting yet another shot at the title.

UFC 246: Holly Holm vs Raquel Pennington 2

Mike Winkeljohn, Holm’s coach is confident that another win in the UFC is likely to give the fighter another potential shot at the gold. She recently scored a convincing victory over Raquel Pennington in UFC 246. Talking to the press, coach Winkeljohn said he believes that Holm is very close to the title. He agreed that she made a big error in her fight against Amanda Nunes, which didn’t come as a big surprise to him because many fighters have fallen into that trap. Commending Nunes, Winkeljohn stated that he’s impressed by what Nunes is capable of, however, she got exposed in that Germaine De Randamie fight. Now, one more win and Holm should get a chance to reclaim the title.

Has huge potential

Despite the fact that Holm hasn’t won back-to-back fights ever since her debut year in the UFC, back in 2015, she is fighting fit right now and is ready to go all the way. If we recall her first year, she got herself a 2-0 start and then earned herself a match with Ronda Rousey. It was a solid head kick against Rousey that won Holm the UFC women’s bantamweight title. Even though MMA isn’t amongst the top sports betting markets yet, a great multitude of punters still continue to back Holm whenever she steps inside the octagon.

Even though Holm lost her last fight against Nunes (in UFC 239) through a first-round TKO, she continues to be a force to reckon with in the bantamweight division. One might not think of her as someone like Amanda Nunes who finishes off opponents with authority, or have many fruitful fighting years ahead of her, like Ketlen Vieira or Aspen Ladd, but she’s proven herself as a major contender time and again, and is far from hanging up her boots just yet.

Unhappy with Ladd’s attitude

Coach Winklejohn believes that Holm would definitely want that GDR fight back; and more importantly the title. He clarified that it wasn’t Holly who stepped out of the Aspen Ladd fight. Rather, the decision was taken by the UFC to make way for the latter’s fight against Nunes. Holm hasn’t been very happy with Aspen’s attitude and is keen on settling things inside the octagon instead.

The 38-year-old American was earlier scheduled to go up against Ladd in UFC 235 in 2019, but that fight never materialised. UFC is well aware that it’s a matchup that everyone is keenly looking forward to. Holm on the other hand would be comfortable taking on anyone right now. Regardless, one more victory for her will bring her closer to the title once again. Although, Holm's UFC career has seen some ups and downs, it can’t be denied that she’s been amongst the most popular and well-known female fighters for the promotion over the years. And she definitely deserves a chance to prove herself one more time.

This article first appeared on JACKSONWINK.COM on 4/30/20