The Weigh-In: The Heart of a Champion

Finally! The People’s Red Head has come back to The Weigh-In!

The clock strikes 4:59 a.m. An annoying alarm begins to wail. In the distance there is the faint sound of crickets chirping. Walter White is finishing up a batch of blue meth. Saul Goodman is plotting a fake slip and fall accident at the corner of Pico and Aztec. The former champion turns off her alarm clock, and finishes lacing up her sneakers. She has been up for 30 minutes already, and is preparing to go for a run. The rest of Albuquerque lies asleep. The champ catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror before she walks out her front door. She is swollen, and bruised, only a few days removed from a unanimous decision loss to Cris Cyborg.

If you have not figured it out by now, we are talking about former champion and future hall of famer, Holly Holm. She is already back on the training circuit. While you all lie in bed, she begins getting after it. Who is she fighting you may ask? No one knows, not even Holly. However, she is in a constant state of readiness, and never shies away from a fight. She has fought all comers.

Although she was only the champ for a brief time, let us not forgot how she earned her belt. Holm defeated former champion and legend, Ronda Rousey. With her victory against Rousey, Holly propelled herself into a different stratosphere. Her career and the upset victory became analogous with Moby Dick. Holly captured her white whale. For those who know Holly’s decorated kick boxing career, a win over Rousey was not even really an upset, it was expected.

Holly then fought Miesha Tate, whom she was dominating. We all know how that one ended though. Even though Holly was ahead on the scorecards and would have likely cruised to victory, she remained engaged against Tate. Tate ultimately ended up choking Holly out. That is right, Holly did not tap out, and she chose instead to let the darkness of being choked out consume her. For all of the men who read my articles, reread that last sentence. Many of us would not dare go dark, but Holly has little, if any, fucks to give.

Here we are, months after her historic rise to the upper echelon of the women’s division. Holly fights Cris Cyborg, a woman Ronda never faced, and refused to face due to all of the doping rumors surrounding Cyborg. Cyborg has been feared by the entire featherweight division, and for good reasons. Cyborg had remained unchallenged heading into her fight against Holly.

The fight starts, Holly’s skill is on display early. Both fighters are landing meaningful shots. Both fighters are bleeding from the nose, and wearing the bruising of combat. Holly goes the distance with a woman that no other competitor could even last past the first round. It is even more of a testament to Holly’s mindset. For those who write about the inconsistency of Holly, I challenge you to really look her track record.

Let us examine where those Holly went against currently are. Ronda just signed a contract with the WWE. While the athletes of the WWE are some of the best in the world, Ronda was never the same after her loss to Holly. We look forward to seeing Ronda in the WWE. Matt Ward has already made signs for her first Monday Night Raw appearance. It is also rumored that our very own Luis Cortes may be a consultant regarding Ronda’s entry music. There will be more to come on this in the future, but also remember, do not believe everything you read.

Tate, who to her credit, defeated Holly to become the champion, is now retired. You can catch her latest work form the broadcast booth, where she is doing quite well. I am not saying Tate retired due to her fight with Holly Holm, but it is interesting that she did not want to rematch Holly, and elected to retire after her loss to Raquel Pennington. Again, I am not taking anything away from Tate. Tate had a lot of mileage on her and was perhaps the second best female mixed martial artist of all time. What I am doing is illustrating Holly’s resume. There is not a woman in the sport Holly has ducked. She fights all comers, and even after a loss to Cyborg, remains the top of the bantamweight food chain. I for one hope Holly gets another title shot in the future. I cannot think of a woman who deserves it more.

For those of you who ever see an alarm clock that is scheduled to go off at 6:00 a.m., know that by the time you are in the McDonald’s drive-thru, Holly has ran up mountains. When Steve Ward awakes next to an 18-year-old conquest he swiped right on the night before, know that Holly has already rolled for several hours. When Matt Ward arises to put on his Spider Man undies, Holly has completed ten rounds of sparring.

The question is not what is next for Holly. The question is, who wants some? Holly, the consummate professional is ready and willing. As the dust settles and the sun sets in the Albuquerque sky, Holly sleeps with one eye open, always ready.

Special Thanks To:

Holly Holm for being an Inspiration