Mixed martial artist Holly Holm, who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight division, looks on during a game between the Denver Broncos and the San Diego Chargers at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on January 3, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. Justin Edmonds/Getty Images/AFP
No one hit wonder.
The new UFC women’s bantamweight champion is out to prove at UFC 196 in March that her shocking upset of Ronda Rousey is not in any way a fluke.
“I don’t want to be a one hit wonder is probably the thing I’ve been saying about that. I don’t want it to be this one performance. I want to show people that I’m here for a reason and for me, I want to keep going, I want to keep getting better, I want to keep learning,” she told Fox Sports.
Though her victory over Rousey catapulted her to elite status, Holm is still aching to show that she is the new alpha female in women’s mixed martial arts.
“Trust me, the last fight was one of the best moments of my life but I don’t want my whole career to be defined by one fight. I don’t want my whole life to be focused on that,” she said.
Holm now shifts her focus to Meisha Tate for her first title defense in Las Vegas.
“I feel like to live up to the hype of the debut was, I don’t think I could have even done that,” she said.
“Then after that, it’s like. ‘Well, her first fight’s out of the way, the Octagon jitters are out of the way, so now what are we going to see?’ Now it’s Ronda – so is she even ready? Then after Ronda, it’s like now after that knockout, what more is she going to show?”
“After every fight, every fight has its own pressure. So there’s a lot of pressure behind this.”