It’s the holiday season, and with the new year quickly approaching, Combat Press is taking a look back at the best of MMA in 2015. Throughout the remainder of the year, Combat Press will announce its award winners in multiple categories, covering everything from the action in the cage to the biggest stories surrounding the sport.
Female Fighter of the Year – Holly Holm
Holly Holm made her debut at UFC 184, the same card that featured Ronda Rousey’s encounter with Cat Zingano, in February in what many would consider to be an uninspired performance. The 19-time boxing world champion was a highly touted prospect coming into the UFC with a professional mixed martial arts record of 7-0, but she lacked the flair and finishing ability of the then-undefeated women’s bantamweight champion, “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey. Or so we thought.
Holm, a protege of arguably the best training camp in MMA, Jackson-Winkeljohn, shocked the world when she knocked out Rousey in spectacular fashion at UFC 193, the biggest event in the promotion’s history to date and headlined by four women. Holm came into the fight as an underdog of massive proportions, and why wouldn’t she? Her last performance against Marion Reneau ended in yet another decision victory, with small flashes of brilliance in the dying seconds of each round. Surely this would not be the woman to dethrone the legacy of the UFC’s biggest and most marketable star? Five minutes and 59 seconds later, with a perfect game plan executed down to the finest detail, and we had our answer: Yes.
Despite many people declaring that Holm would not be able to fill the shoes of Rousey in victory, the Albuquerque, N.M., native seems to have relished the whirlwind of responsibilities that have been thrown her way and has marketed herself brilliantly as the confident yet humble champion, a role model for young athletes and women to look up to. While she doesn’t have the pizzazz of Rousey, the quiet underlying rock-solid self-belief and talent that now clearly speaks for itself has definitely made Holm a star in the eyes of many UFC and sporting fans. She has, without a doubt, set the benchmark for how to carry oneself in a sport where trash-talking and ego is at the forefront of making big fights and cashing even bigger checks.
With a rematch against Rousey looming and likely to take place at UFC 200 in July 2016, Holm will find herself, yet again, in the biggest fight of her career. While no one can deny that Holm was the better fighter at UFC 193, a second win over the “most dominant athlete in the world” will certainly cement her own legacy in combat sports as one of the greatest of all time.
Other Finalists: Joanna Jędrzejczyk, Tonya Evinger
Make sure you check out the rest of the Combat Press 2015 MMA Award winners.