Holly Holm on uncharted ground ahead of UFC-Singapore: 'I've never been here in my life'

SINGAPORE – Despite three consecutive losses, Holly Holm remains calm and confident ahead of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 111 headliner against Bethe Correia.

Since winning the UFC women’s bantamweight title from Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 in November 2015, Holm (10-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) has failed to have her hand raised. She’s dropped three straight fights and needs to get back on track when she meets Correia (10-2-1 MMA, 4-2-1 UFC) in the UFC Fight Pass-streamed main event at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.

Prior to the current skid, Holm had never lost consecutive fights – not just in her MMA career, but in the entirety of her combat-sports career, which includes a lengthy amateur and pro boxing run. Holm admitted there’s a necessary mental requirement needed to remain positive through hard times, and she said her ability to do that stems from the knowledge she hasn’t performed at an optimum level.

“A three-fight losing streak? I’ve never been here in my life,” Holm told MMAjunkie ahead of UFC Fight Night 111. “I’ve never had a two-fight losing streak, so it’s one of those things I have to overcome in my own mind. … It’s all me. It’s all on me. Nobody can fight for me. I’m the only one that can do it when I’m in there. I know I’m more capable than what my last three-fight records shows. That’s just something I’m going to have to overcome on my own.

“Yes, there’s times you battle with doubt in your own mind and things like that, but in the end, it all depends on how you feel about yourself when you get in there. I know I’m capable of beating these girls, and that’s what I need to do.”

Although her title-losing submission to Miesha Tate at UFC 196 in March 2016 was hard to deal with, as was the unanimous-decision loss to Valentina Shevchenko at UFC on FOX 20 in July 2016, perhaps the most frustrating result of the current run was Holm’s unanimous-decision loss to Germaine de Randamie at UFC 208 in February.

Holm moved up to the featherweight division for the inaugural title fight, which she lost despite competing well and absorbing multiple after-the-bell blows from “The Iron Lady.” Holm took the opportunity because it gave her the chance to become just the fourth fighter in UFC history to claim belts in two weight classes, but it didn’t go according to plan. Holm is back at bantamweight for the fight with Correia, but if she can get everything right, “The Preacher’s Daughter” doesn’t rule out a change in division again in the future.

“If they offered me a fight at 145, I’m open to it,” Holm said. “I’m open to fighting at either weight. But the last fight, everybody I know says, ‘Hey, I thought you won that fight. Even with the strikes after the bell we thought you had three rounds to two.’ But at the end of the day I know I could have done more to make that more clear, and it should never be that close anyway. I just took what I learned from it and moved forward because I can’t go back and change the past.”

Looking forward, Holm said she likes her chances against Correia. The Brazilian is a brawler who prefers to come forward and throw aggressive strikes. That should play right into Holm’s game plan. At her best she is able to move well around the octagon and counterstrike incoming opponents.

Holm said she can’t make any assumptions, though. After all, though some of the fights during her current skid seemed tailor-made for her style, they didn’t go her way on fight night.

“She’s going to be aggressive, and she’s not going to turn away from you,” Holm said of Correia. “She faces a challenge, and those are sometimes the toughest opponents because they’re going to take whatever comes at them. With that being said, I know I’m tough too. I know that I have the experience, I know I’m technical, and I know that I’m capable. And I do believe that my skill set is better.

“That doesn’t mean that it’s in the bag. That does not mean that the victory is easy. I have to take Bethe at her best, and you never know what’s going to happen when you get in there. I want to be adaptable and take the fight where it goes.”

The hardest part of dealing with the rough stretch was Holm wasn’t necessarily blown out in any of her losses. She was beating Tate until a stunning come-from-behind submission ended the fight, she was competitive for the most part against Shevchenko, and then arguably she should have got the nod against de Randamie.

Holm said she’s not simply shooting for the win at UFC Fight Night 111; she wants to win emphatically.

“I don’t want to let another opportunity go by and not make the best of it,” she said. “That’s been a sore ache in my side for the past three fights. I hate to lose, and I just want the taste of victory. I don’t want to be there just to experience it. I’m not ever there for a participation ribbon. I’m there for a victory, and that’s all there is to it.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 111, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.