UFC: Holly Holm going for gold one more time – ‘I know what I can do’
- No 2-ranked former bantamweight champ faces surging Irene Aldana as UFC Fight Island 4 headliner
- ‘I’ve come short a couple of times and it’s easy for people to say you’re done … I make it to the gym, work my butt off and believe in myself still,’ says Holm
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.