Holly Holm has been around long enough to know what to expect when she enters the Octagon to face Irene Aldana at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi this weekend. The former bantamweight champ (13-5) has been in MMA across a decade and met the best the game has to offer, and so when she looks across at Aldana (12-5) the intent she sees will be all too familiar. “A long time ago my coach asked me if I thought my opponent was going to come in and try to knock me out and I thought, ‘Of course, every fighter is’,” the 38-year-old American tells SCMP MMA. “They’re all trying to do that, in every fight. You have to not let that get into your head. Stay positive and keep pushing forward. I think she’s going to come in and I think she’s going to try to hit me a lot and hit me hard. She’s also got some scrappy scramble on the ground. I am just ready for all of it.” In the early hours of Sunday (local time), Holm will headline her sixth UFC event, ranked second among bantamweights and up against a surging 32-year-old in the sixth-ranked Mexican Aldana, who is out to establish her own title credentials. Aldana wants a shot at Brazilian champ Amanda Nunes (20-4). But so does Holm as she looks for one last run at the title she claimed with her knockout of then-champ Ronda Rousey (12-2) in 2015. UFC’s first Thai fighter Loma brings eye of ‘Tiger’ to Fight Island That win – and the left foot to the head – are part of MMA folklore, arguably the sport’s greatest upset, but Holm wants to add a few more chapters to her storied career before she’s done. “The hard work, the emotional drain, the anxiety, the tiredness – it never changes,” says Holm. “I have those same feelings I had when I started. You take one thing at a time and embrace all those feelings. “You know each fight is its own journey and I’ve learned something from every single one. I just try to take the best and leave all the stuff that was negative behind. There’s so much to learn and I still want to learn more.” A 0-3 run after taking the title from Rousey raised questions about where Holm’s career was at, as she lost the belt to Miesha Tate (18-7), and then follow-up bouts to Kyrgyzstan’s now flyweight champ Valentina Shevchenko (19-3) and then Dutch fighter Germaine de Randamie (9-4), the latter in a clash for the UFC’s featherweight crown. Holm answered those questions with a knockout of Brazil’s Bethe Correia (11-5-1) in Singapore in 2017, and she’s gone on a 2-2 run since. It’s by no means been brilliant but the record comes with a caveat – those two most recent losses were title bouts against Cris Cyborg (22-2, one no contest), for the featherweight crown, again, and to bantamweight/featherweight queen Nunes. “I’ve come short of the belt a couple of times and it’s easy for people to say, ‘Oh, you’re done’. But I know my capabilities and I know what I can do when I get in there,” says Holm. “So I gotta stay focused on the gold and work for it, not just hope it happens. I make it to the gym and work my butt off and believe in myself still, and I’m still passionate about it.” The UFC on ESPN: Holm vs Aldana headline bout was another that initially fell victim to the Covid-19 pandemic, with Aldana testing positive for the coronavirus in July, forcing the fight to be pushed back. Coming in to Yas Island this weekend, the buzz about Aldana has centred on her last bout and the brilliant left hook that laid Brazil’s previously unbeaten Ketlen Vieira (11-1) out. Holm had a win, too, with a decision over American Raquel Pennington (11-8), but it was over three laboured rounds. But a win, Holm points out, is a win, no matter how it may come. She acknowledges there is now less of her career ahead than behind after 10 years in MMA that came after a brilliant 11-year boxing career with three world titles. “It’s been a journey and it’s been great,” says Holm. “You know I never take this for granted and I never let it go by without realising we’re doing something really big. “When I was younger I never thought there would be millions of people watching what we do. I definitely keep that in mind when I step into the cage. But I’m also there for a reason – I belong there. It’s my calling and I know I have to go in there and do my thing.”
