Holly Holm's Dazzling KO Win Showcases All of Her Brilliance and Inconsistency

Holly Holm connects on the fight-winning knockout kick of Bethe Correia.Brandon Magnus/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

Nearing the halfway point of her UFC main event fight in Kallang, Singapore, Holly Holm showed little sense of urgency. She moved and feinted, but rarely attacked. Her fists remained cocked and ready, but passive. The action—inaction—was sluggish enough that referee Marc Goddard took the uncommon step of warning both fighters that at some point they would have to engage.

“Listen ladies,” he said, “I respect the game plan, but you have to make something happen.”

Holm’s opponent, Bethe Correia, wasn’t budging. Correia is by nature overly aggressive, but by this point in the third round, it was clear that she was diverting from her base instincts and staying away from Holm’s counter striking strengths in an effort to force the former UFC bantamweight champion to lead the dance. Correia smiled at Holm, shook her head, taunted her. And finally, she invited Holm to attack, waving her forward.

I dare you, it was as if she was saying.

Correia invited Holm to attack in a moment she would soon come to regret.Brandon Magnus/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

After all this time, it’s become clear that Holm has certain offensive preferences. One of them is to let her opponent go first. Correia was turning the tables on her to a degree that Holm had rarely seen. Holm was flummoxed enough that in the first round, she attempted only 13 strikes, and landed only seven.

But this? This was going too far. And proving MMA is a sport that loves its instant karma, Correia’s audacious invitation was met by force; a shin upside the head that recalled the one that Holm landed against Ronda Rousey so many months ago, back when she was seemingly ready to take over the MMA world.

The kick was a thing of beauty, a Brazilian kick that presents itself as a front kick to the body before curling up and around the opponent’s shoulder and to the jaw. It was textbook, crashing into Correia’s face and sending her down in a heap. 

“I think obviously if I was training to fight me, I’d say she has a left kick, watch out,” Holm said in the post-fight press conference. “It’s one of those things, I think you know it’s coming but I still want to hit you with it.”

It was brilliant, and for most, it was good enough to erase all of the tentative moments that came before it. It was good enough to wipe out a three-fight losing skid. It was good enough to remind the world that on her best day, Holm is one of the best in the world, and that some day soon, she might go a step beyond that by wrapping another gold belt around her waist.

And now, the downside... It’s not worth getting overly critical here. Holm won, and she did so in highlight reel fashion. But even in victory, she does things that lead to second-guessing.

After her last two losses—decisions to Germaine de Randamie and Valentina Shevchenko—Holm openly spoke about turning up the heat with her aggression and leaving no doubt in the minds of the judges regarding who won a round. That didn’t happen here, at least not for the first two rounds. Holm did win both rounds on the judges’ scorecards, but neither of them are what anyone would call decisive. They were simply "enough."

One way to look at that is that she was pacing herself for the length of a possible five-round fight. Another interpretation is that she was what she’s always been: slow and methodical.

“One of my goals was to not let it look messy,” Holm said. “Her style is she wants to get in, make it look like a brawl. I wanted it to look clean. I’m not happy with even letting her land a couple shots in the second round. I wanted to pick clean shots and do it right. The game plan was not to rush anything even if the crowd might boo. I thought, ‘I’m the one in here fighting and I’m going to pick the right shot.’”

Holm is clearly a fantastic fighter. Her boxing resume proves that; so does her dominant KO win over Rousey. But those moments of excellence are often sprinkled in among long periods of inactivity, even in situations where she is clearly the more talented of the two in the cage. MMA is a dangerous game, and a certain amount of defensive caution must be imparted in every game plan. Unchecked aggression is also a path to peril. But as she moves on to conquer her next mountain, she has to ask herself whether the balance is right.

But that’s a discussion for next week. Now is a time for celebration, and there is much to enjoy. She is no doubt back on the short list as a bantamweight championship contender, and in all likelihood, her counter-striking style would sync well with current champ Amanda Nunes, if Nunes can get by Valentina Shevchenko in July. 

Holm can also bounce back on up to featherweight to eventually fight the victor of the upcoming Cris Cyborg vs. Megan Anderson title match. 

There are newer and better options and targets now, and as an athlete, that is exactly what you want. 

Winning creates opportunities but it can also mask problems. With her win in Singapore, Holm ended her drought, but now takes the escalator to higher-level competition. Athletically, she’s as good as anyone she might face in the future, so it may be her approach that makes the difference between winning and losing. For Holm, Saturday night showed everything she can be and everything she is, the good and the bad all on display; the power to change and the ability to evolve hers to summon in an instant.