Holly Holm may be a champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) athlete, but is just like us in her love for French fries! t2 dialled ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’, a former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion, for a relaxed early morning chat (India time) in Las Vegas, ahead of her next fight with Kayla Harrison on Sunday.

Congratulations on all your accomplishments! You played a lot of sports while growing up...

Thank you. You know, I did soccer, swimming, gymnastics growing up. In between soccer seasons, I started doing cardio kick boxing class and that was the first time I ever saw people sparring and I thought, maybe I want to try that. So, I started doing the sparring classes which turned into my first amateur fight and it just kind of took off from there. It’s been a great journey. I started with a couple of fights in kick boxing and my first pro fight was my first boxing fight, strictly boxing.

I started with kick boxing and most of my amateur fights were all kick boxing. I had only about nine amateur fights and then I turned pro. I had a decade of boxing and got really excited about MMA and hence the transition and it has been a great journey and a great career.

Did you have a favourite from amongst the ones you pursued as a kid?

When I did gymnastics I liked it... it was at a point where I needed to start going every day of the week... in level seven, if I really wanted to try to do something with it, I was going to have to be a lot more dedicated and I didn’t really feel like I had it in me to be that dedicated and also how far could I really take it. I kind of leaned more into soccer at that time and I probably did that for more years of my life. I also did swimming every summer from when I was five until I was about 14 and I swam competitively in the league every summer.

Did you always want to pursue professional sports?

I think I just always enjoyed sports but I never really thought that I’d make a career of it, but I think in loving it, it kind of found me. I was super competitive... a passion and want for victory and I definitely always really loved sports. So, just putting the time into it helped turn it into a whole career.

How have all the sports you have played come together and helped you mature into a top athlete?

Anything you do in life is gonna help you learn something as you go along. I think being in gymnastics helped me in balance, core strength and body awareness. Soccer and swimming helped me with endurance. When I got into kick-boxing, I started developing those kicks, went to boxing and focused more on my hands. So, when I came to MMA with body awareness and balance for wrestling, all my sports put together helped with that transition and success. Everything played its part in helping me to be where I am today.

How has your training changed?

In boxing, there was sparring, but no wrestling or grappling. So, I probably ran a little more, sparred and stood up and I didn’t have the other practices. Now, in MMA, I have got wrestling, grappling and clinch work on top of our actual striking. Every day is a little different. We walk in and have a different focus that we want to work on for that day.

There is always something romantic about seeing an underdog win, almost like a wish fulfilment. What did you tell yourself before that match with Ronda Rousey in 2015, that you went on to win?

There was a lot leading into that fight, being a huge underdog... but I was focused and I stayed with my eyes on the prize (UFC Bantamweight Championship)... and I got it there and got it done.

What do you do to remain at the top of the game?

I think staying focused and driven. It’s easy to get into a routine and go through the motions and not really be taking with you what you learn in practice. Just taking care of my body and showing up for practice and still learning and feeling like a student has helped me to keep evolving over these years.

What is the secret of those fab abs?!

(Laughs) I kind of eat a little bit of everything. I still eat fat, carbs, protein and I just make sure to stay active. Obviously, closer to a fight I get a little more strict with my diet. A long time ago my coach told me to just pay attention that you are working out more than you are eating. Don’t get me wrong, but there are a lot of things that you can eat that can be bad and even if you eat just a little, if it’s all bad, it’s not going to be good for you.

Everybody is different. I stay with a well-rounded diet and I eat a little bit of everything and I try to keep it balanced and not overdo it. When I am full, I am full. Unless it’s one of those days when I am on vacation. It’s a big thing to stop eating when I am full because I can eat a lot! (Laughs)

Tell us about your other passions…

I love hanging around with my friends, being at home with my dog and I love to travel. I try to keep a balance between the two.

If not an athlete, you’d be…

You know, eventually, I won’t be competing as an athlete, but I will always be active and be an athlete my whole life. I don’t think I can ever stop... I think I’d always be doing some kind of athletic (activity).

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