What makes you think you can beat Ronda Rousey?
It may be wrapped up with niceties and specifics and endless permutations of phrasing, but that is the core of the question Holly Holm receives, over and over again.
With UFC 193 and Holm's date with Rousey approaching, the questioning is hitting overdrive. During a media conference call Thursday that was joined by Bleacher Report MMA, Holm gamely (if wearily) answered the question as often as it was asked, discussing her own style, her own preparation and her own chances to dethrone the seemingly undethronable UFC women's bantamweight champion.
Making the scrutiny even more intense was the fact that Rousey was not present as scheduled for any of the call, failing to answer even a single question because of what call organizers said were "technical difficulties."
Without Ronda, this conference call? Standstill.
— Steven Marrocco (@MMAjunkieSteven) October 29, 2015
That left Holm to face the proverbial firing squad alone.
But she was up to the challenge. There are bigger challenges to come than some conference call, but Thursday may indicate that Holm is remaining poised in the crucible of low expectations and the hardest fight of her career.
“Every style makes a difference. Every fight makes a difference," Holm said during the call. "And I think that I can do it. Girls get in there with her and they put her high up on a pedestal. They forget they’re in there for a reason. I’m in there for a reason.”
According to odds posted on Odds Shark, Holm is anywhere from +825 to +1100 to pull what would be a shocking upset on November 15. With those long numbers, it becomes almost literally true that no one is giving her a chance. And Holm knows this.
Holm also knows that she was selected for more than her blondeness. A former world champion boxer, the 34-year-old is 9-0 since switching to pro MMA. She has yet to look amazing in her two bouts for the UFC but managed to notch a win on each occasion.
When discussing her Rousey-beating ability, Holm draws on her boxing experience.
“I’ve been the underdog more than once, and that’s fine with me," Holm said. “A couple years ago, I got knocked out by [Anne Sophie] Mathis. She hadn’t lost in 17 years, and she knocked me out, and people thought I was crazy for taking that rematch. Those times are when the victories are even better.”
What Holm left unsaid is that she defeated Mathis by decision in the rematch. Will that kind of scenario play out against Rousey? Most people are betting against it, due mainly to the fact that Holm lacks the ground game and knockout power to, respectively, resist Rousey on the ground or end the fight in a flash.
But of course, Holm said she has been working on those parts of her game. Helping her along in that regard is one of the best teams in the sport: coaches Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn, and training partners like a certain Jon Jones.
“He might just come to my mitt session and talk about my fighting style," Holm said of Jones. "He’s got a good mind for fighting.”
Holm also notes that she has been working on her mat game, although without sacrificing a focus on the skill set that got her this far.
“Of course I’ve been working on [grappling]," Holm said. "I think it would be a really dumb mistake to not…I know she’s not afraid to stand up…I’m very aware of that...Yes, we look at what she does well, but we also want to capitalize on the things I do well.”
As the questions finally wound down, Holm never strayed off message. Though she acknowledged and almost even embraced the difficulty of the task in front of her, she also maintained that she has the tools to win. If the improbable happens on November 15, no one can accuse Holm of losing faith, even if everyone else seemed to.
“She hasn’t been beaten yet," Holm said, "but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.”
Scott Harris writes about MMA for Bleacher Report. For more, follow Scott on Twitter. All quotes obtained firsthand.
