THE PRIDE OF ALBUQUERQUE

HOLLY HOLM
UFC BANTAMWEIGHT CHAMPION

ESTABLISHED
1880

ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL
SOUVENIR SECTION
DECEMBER 6, 2015

ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL

Editors note: Then-Journal assistant business editor Autumn Gray

wrote a profile of Holly Holm that was
published on April 1, 2012. Excerpts
from that story follow.

ts 11:30 a.m. on a Wednesday,

and Starbucks has a line
and few open seats. So if you
werent looking for her, you
could easily walk right by Holly
Holm.
Despite her straight, waist-length
bleached blonde hair, she blends
in wearing a lilac-colored hoodie
and ripped jeans at a two-person
table. One manicured hand holds
her cellphone to her ear while the
other lazily hits keys on the iPad
her fianc (now husband) gave her
for her birthday. Some days, a Bible
takes the place of her computer.
Seeing Holm like this, chewing
gum unabashedly, she could be
taken for any 30-year-old modern
woman with leisure time. Aside
from the fact that she is New Mexicos best-known professional boxer,
Holm is still a girls girl.
Manis and pedis, snowboarding, yard work, sewing, time with
friends and family, getting her
hair highlighted (she is naturally
a strawberry blonde and wishes
she could easily go back to that)
and shopping these make up the
other side of Holm.
She has already been to a fabric
store this morning to look for the
perfect mix of prints for a duffle
bag she will sew for a friend getting married. Before that, she
was spreading hot-pink icing on
some heart-shaped cookies at the
Far Northeast Heights home she
shares with her two cats a ragdoll named Buster and a Siamese
named Frenchie (after one of the
Pink Ladies in the movie Grease)
as well as her fianc (now husband), Jeff Kirkpatrick, and his
Yorkie, Steve.
I made some (cookies) for
Valentines Day, and I had some
leftover ones, so I just frosted em
real quick, she says nonchalantly
as she gets into her white Infiniti
G35S, the stereo tuned to classic
rock 102.5 FM.
Though Holm appears all sugar
and spice, there is nothing soft or
sweet about her when she enters
the ring. Even when she likes her
opponent as a person, which is
more often than not, Holm is merciless when the gloves go on. She has
pummeled another woman nonstop
for 10 rounds, not out of anger, but
because she will do whatever it
takes to win. Between her bulls-eye
punches and strong defensive moves,
Holm has won at least eight world
titles given by five organizations in
three weight classes.
Certainly neither Holm nor her
mom could have pictured the evolution of Holms warrior side when
Holm, learning from her mom how
to cook, went by the nickname
Nay Nay her mothers version
of her only girls middle name,
Rene.
I love to bake, and I love to
cook, she says. Ive always
baked. I mean, if (my mom and
I) make pies, we make the crust
from scratch. If we make cookies,
well even make the frosting from
scratch, just like the cookies she
is taking today to her future sisterin-law, Lauren Kirkpatrick, and
future mother-in-law, Vicky Kirkpatrick, who, along with Jeff, she
is meeting for lunch at Cheese and
Coffee on Louisiana.
I come here about once a
week, she says, arriving at the
restaurant.
Her diet? I chew gum every day,
all day. I drink Diet Coke every
day.
But I dont diet, she says. A lot
of my teammates get so irritated
with me ... Cause I dont cut out
carbs, and I have to eat something sweet every day, even if Im
training.
I mean, I do modify things. I try
not to eat greasy foods when Im
training.
This is a normal day, Holm
says of the day the Journal spent
with her training, going to lunch

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2015

the other side of

big time, says Kirkpatrick, who

has become one of Holms best
friends.
Today, Holm is accessorized in
brown leather flats and a black
and white Coach tote. Crystal stud
earrings, a pendant necklace and
square diamond engagement ring
dress up her otherwise casualfashionista appearance.
Im never against shopping,
she says. I shop all the time. Im a
cheap shopper. Like Ill buy a lot of
shirts at Forever 21. ... And I clean
my closet out all the time. Im, like,
if I havent worn it in a year, its
gone. Ill give it to my friend.
For now, Holm is determined to
find, with the help of Kirkpatrick,
materials for the quilted duffle bag
she is sewing for her friend getting
married. I look for a reason to
make them, she says of the creations that usually mix bold colors
and prints.
Theres like a waiting list for
Hollys bags, says Kirkpatrick.
The first duffle Holm made was
for herself: I wanted one for the
gym. I was going to look, and I
thought, none of those are really it
... I made it with like leopard, tiger
and pink leopard (prints).
She has it with her later at a pro
sparring class at her manager
Mike Winkeljohns gym on Acoma
Road SE.

HOLLY
Though she is now well known as a world-class
combat fighter, Holm is very much a girls girl

MARLA BROSE/JOURNAL

Holly Holm puts on her protective head gear before a 2012 workout at Jacksons Mixed Martial Arts & Fitness
gym. Holm has been known to get upset with male training partners if she thinks they are taking it easy on her.

A DESIRE TO WIN
Q: Holm the Homemaker vs. Holm the Hitter how do
you reconcile the two?
A: Its simple. Theyre trained to beat you, so youre in
there (the ring) for survival. This is a sport and you know
they train to win. Thats as basic as I can make it.
You cant be too nice, (but) youre not in there to hurt
someone; youre in there to win. Its competition.
I feel like its a really pure sport. You put everything emotionally and physically into it. Youre totally exposed. Its
just you.

with family, browsing fabric stores

and running errands.
I have to go to the grocery
store cause Im making taco soup
tonight. I have to go to the post
office cause I have to send out this
card. One of my dads friends had
to put his cat to sleep, so I got him
a card with a cat. I do like to go
look at houses (that are for sale).
She says she likes to imagine how
she could fix them up.
Holm even got her Realtors
license about a year and a half ago

Q: Is there anything youre afraid of?

A: Just losing.
Q: What about outside the ring?
A: Mostly just failure. At anything. I dont care what it is.
Like I want to be a good friend to people. I dont want to
fail at that. I want my marriage to last. I dont want to fail
at that. I want my career to be successful. I dont want to
fail at that. I want to be good to my family. I dont want to
fail at that. If I make food, I want it to taste good. If I sew
something, I want it to look good. I dont like failure in
any way.

but is not using it. Its just to have

something to fall back on.
Her dad, Roger Holm, is a preacher at Edgewood Church of Christ.
When Holm was growing up, he
had preached at Bosque Farms
Church of Christ.
I went to church every Sunday morning, Sunday night and
Wednesday night. We grew up
living in a house owned by the
church We had potlucks all the
time, and I was like a babysitter for
a lot of the members of the church.

Holly Holm chats beside then-fiance Jeff Kirkpatrick,

right, during a 2012 interview. Holm had to plan for a
wedding and a fight at the same time.

Which is probably why, as an

adult, much of her energy outside
the ring is focused on family and
friends.
That is my favorite thing having everybody come over. I love to
cater to them, feed them... I like
people just to come relax like
this house is your house, Holm
says.
Its a trait Lauren Kirkpatrick
does not take for granted: Youre
always kind of scared of who your
brother marries, but I lucked out

Holly Holm threads the needle on a long arm quilting machine at Abbey Lane Vacuum & Sewing. She
spoke of making a quilted duffle bag for a friend.

The heavy stench of sweat and

mildewed clothes is almost suffocating. Its loud and stinky and
threatening. Dozens of fighters spar,
punch bags and practice in a ring
they call the cage. Holm faces five
male partners, each for a 5-minute
round. Its common knowledge she
gets upset if anyone goes easy on
her. Her hair is up now, but loose
and tangled and sweaty within blue
headgear, and a protective mouthpiece makes her makeup-free face
even more intimidating. Grunts fill
the room, including Holms own
with almost every punch.
But when the final buzzer sounds,
the headgear comes off and she steps
into a pair of purple flip-flops. A
one-inch, pink puffy spot and scar
that werent apparent earlier now
stand out under her left eye a
reminder of the deep, bloody cut
she received from the knockout in
December.
Some days, its poofier than others, she says of the scar. Like in
the morning, it wont be there, and
then in the afternoon, it will be
poofy again.
She seems less concerned about
that than her fingernails, which
have just emerged unscathed from
an hour in boxing gloves.
Its that gel stuff, she says of
her neutral nail color.
Though she is wearing her favorite hang-out attire yoga pants
she does not practice yoga or do
other specific activities for relaxation. However, she does admit
to hours of couch time in front of
Family Feud, which she says she
and Jeff have become somewhat
addicted to.
Her quilting and sewing are also
respites.
But I much prefer, if I have the
time for that, to go to church. I feel
really not focused and detached if
I dont go to church. I feel like I feel
better about myself and life and my
relationship with God if I go. I feel
more connected.
I try to go every Sunday morning, but theres times that I just
cant. And then sometimes I get a
little irritated with myself because
Im like, Really, Holly? God sacrifices and has you in mind all day,
every day. One hour (is all it takes).
... Im very blessed how can I not
want to give back one day, one hour
even? Im like OK, Im going to
Starbucks (and) instead of bringing
my iPad, maybe Ill bring my Bible.
I might as well use the time then.
Though her nurturing, spiritual
nature is difficult to reconcile
with the kick-ass persona most
New Mexicans see, the two sides
of Holm are united by one quality:
intensity.

TALKING ABOUT HOLLY

(Holms) got some skills.
Youll hear the expression
A PUNCHERS CHANCE,
but shes not very good at
punching. Those boxing
championships, theyre not
real. Im not sure she could
outstrike Ronda. She definitely
cant outgrapple her.
I WISH HER THE BEST.
MMA commentator and former
fighter Chael Sonnen (Oct. 6)

Cover Photo: Holly Holm poses

backstage for a post-fight
portrait after she defeated
Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 in
Australia on Nov. 14.
Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC

HOLLY HOLM
ABSOLUTELY DOMINATED
(Rousey) from start to finish.
IT WAS NOT EVEN
COMPETITIVE .
Chael Sonnen (Nov. 21)

I think that (Holm will) enjoy her

life a lot more (if she loses). The
life of a champion, I think ISNT
FOR EVERYBODY.
And I think that the
life of a contender,
its a lot nicer in a
lot of ways. A lot
of these girls dont
realize until theyre
the contender and they get all
that extra pressure put on that
they dont really want that life. I
think this kind of ENVIRONMENT
ISNT WHAT HOLLY WOULD
LIKE. I hope that she takes the
money that she gets for losing and
has a great life that she would like
a lot more than this one.
Ronda Rousey (Oct. 27)

Holly walked in my gym 16, 17 years ago I cant even count

to do aerobics. And here we are today. SHES GOING TO FIGHT
in Australia. Its going to be the biggest womens fight of all time.
Its going to be the biggest upset ever in MMA,
period. ... Shes going to do what she does. What
she always does. SHES GOING TO WIN.
Primary coach/trainer Mike Winkeljohn (Oct. 30)

Now everybody
knows how
talented Holly
Holm is and that
HOLLY HOLM
IS LEGIT and
Holly Holm is a
workhorse, too.

WEVE BEEN DOUBTED

SINCE DAY 1. Twenty some
years ago when we first started
doing MMA out of Albuquerque, people
would say Albuquerque? Wheres that? Then
they knew who we were when we left.

Dana White,
UFC President
(Nov. 15)

Coach Greg Jackson about people doubting

Holly, Jackson-Wink MMA and Albuquerque in
general (Oct. 30)

I LOVE BEING THE UNDERDOG. I love

having a little chip on my shoulder to brush off.

ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2015

HOLLY HOLM TIMELINE

Nov. 14, 2015
HOLM
UPSETS
ROUSEY

Shes an
overnight
SENSATION
BY GEOFF GRAMMER

JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

QUINN ROONEY/GETTY IMAGES

Oct. 17, 1981

Born in Albuquerque.

June 2000

Graduates from Manzano High School.

June 13, 2008

Defeats previously unbeaten Mary Jo

Sanders by unanimous decision at
Isleta. The two boxers fight to a majority
draw four months later in Auburn Hills,
Mich.

Sometime in 2000-01

Walks into Mike Winkeljohns martial

arts school, looking for a way to stay in
shape.

March 19, 2014

Afer a meeting with Fresquez, UFC

President Dana White says his organization is no longer interested in signing
Holm to a contract. Three months earlier, White called Fresquez a lunatic
whose financial demands on Holms
behalf were unreasonable.

Fall 2001

Wins a national amateur kickboxing title

in Kansas City, Mo.

Jan. 25, 2002

Defeats Martha Deitchman by thirdround TKO in her pro boxing debut at

Isleta Casino & Resort.

April 6, 2003

Suffers the first defeat of her combatsports career when shes knocked out
by Trisha Hill in a pro kickboxing match
(Muay Thai) at Cowboys Bar & Grill in
Albuquerque.

March 4, 2011
Makes her MMA debut with a victory at
Isleta by second-round TKO over Christina Domke at Route 66 Hotel Casino.

April 4, 2014

Defeats Brazils Juliana Werner by fifthround TKO at Route 66 to win the Legacy FC womens bantamweight title. In
the process, Holms arm is broken while
defending against a Werner kick.

July 10, 2014

Signs a contract with UFC.

Aug. 26, 2003

Defeats Albuquerque rival boxer Stephanie Jaramillo by four-round majority

decision at Sandia Casino. The two
would battle to a six-round draw five
weeks later at the same venue.

Dec. 2, 2011

Suffers a devastating, seventh-round

knockout at the hands of Frances Anne
Sophie Mathis at Route 66.

April 27, 2012

Nov. 13, 2014

Withdraws from her scheduled UFC

debut against Raquel Pennington
because a of neck injury that for a time
was feared to be career-threatening.

Marries Albuquerquean Jeff Kirkpatrick.

June, 2004

Signs promotional contract with Albuquerque businessman Lenny Fresquez.

The Holm-Winkeljohn-Fresquez training/management/promotional team
endures to this day.

June 27, 2004

Suffers the first loss of her boxing

career against Rita Turrisi at Sandia
Casino because of a deep cut under
Holms eye. Efforts to schedule a
rematch with Turrisi never come to
fruition.

Feb. 28, 2015

June 15, 2012

Avenges her loss to Mathis with a victory by unanimous decision at Route 66.

Feb. 28, 2013

July 15, 2015

April 16, 2013

Aug. 21, 2015

Defeats Katie Merrill by second-round

TKO on Bellator 91 at the Santa Ana
Star Center.

Dec. 10, 2004

Fully healed, Holm defeats Pennington by split decision at Los Angeles

Staples Center in her UFC debut. The
unknown was there, so there were a lot
of nerves, she says afterward.

Announces shell give up boxing after

one more fight to focus solely on MMA.

Defeats Terri Blair at Isleta by unanimous eight-round decision, claiming

the International Boxing Association
140-pound title the first title belt of
her career.

Defeats Marion Reneau in San Diego

by unanimous decision for her second
UFC victory.
Its announced that Holm will fight
unbeaten UFC womens bantamweight
champion Ronda Rousey on Jan. 2 in
Las Vegas, Nev.

Aug. 28, 2015

The Holm-Rousey fight is moved from

Jan. 2 to Nov. 14, and from Las Vegas
to Melbourne, Australia.

n the three weeks since

the monumental upset at
UFC 193 in Melbourne,
Australia, the world
has received a crash course
on what Albuquerque has
known for years.
Holly Holm is a humble,
articulate and charming
champion. And she has
embraced her overnight
worldwide attention with
class.
While The Preachers
Daughter has finally made
her way back home to Albuquerque after her historic
upset victory on Nov. 14 over
Ronda Rousey for the UFCs
womens bantamweight title,
the curiosity and demands
of a national media continue.
It was nothing like this
before, even when Holm
already was a world-class
athlete.
As many in Albuquerque
know, it all started when
Holm walked into Mike Winkeljohns martial-arts school
sometime shortly after graduating from Manzano High
in 2000, mainly then looking
for a way to stay in shape.
The rest is history 16
times a world boxing champion by the Journals count,
and now the first female
athlete to hold world titles in
both boxing and mixed martial arts.
But the attention was never like this during her boxing career. Nothing pointed
that out so bluntly as when
Ring Magazine a boxing,
not an MMA, publication
put Rousey on the cover earlier this season. Holm, twice
its female fighter of the year,
never had graced its cover.
A swift kick to Rouseys
face and a furiously stunning finish to that Nov.
14 fight has changed
everything.
We are still receiving
multiple mainstream media
requests a day for Holly,
cementing the fact that shes
become an instant sensation, UFC Vice President for
Public Relations Dave Sholler told the Journal.
One of the things that
weve heard over and over
again from mainstream
media is how relatable she
is. People have connected
with her in a way thats
incredibly genuine and her
personality, confidence and
humor have really helped
make her one of the most
sought after athletes weve
worked with.
But thats what the promotion would say about any of
their fighters, right?
Not exactly.
While Holly-mania has
hardly reached the levels of
becoming a worldwide pop
culture sensation like the
woman she dethroned last
month had, the immediacy
of the cross-over demand
after her victory beyond
that from just sports fans
and media is hard to compare to anything the mixed
martial arts world has seen
before.
Simply put, a new UFC
superstar has arrived and
her name is Holly Holm, the
pride of Albuquerque, New
Mexico, Sholler said. ...
To put it in perspective, her
schedule rivaled or in some
cases exceeded the demands
previously reserved for the
likes of Rousey, (Connor)
McGregor, (Jackson-Wink
teammate Jon) Jones,
(Brock) Lesnar, (Chuck) Liddell, etc.
Once she finally returned

to the United States, rather

than coming straight
home to Albuquerque, she
embraced the opportunity
to capitalize on the moment,
agreeing to a media blitz
that took her from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, Nev., to
New York to the ESPN campus in Bristol, Conn.
There she was talking
rematch with Larry King,
turkey bowling on the
Rich Eisen show, showing
Kelly Ripa how to head kick
Michael Strahan on Live
with Kelly and Michael,
interacting on Twitter with
doppelganger Amy Schumer,
and being interviewed by
GQ, Rolling Stone or the
New York Times. Several
times she recounted her
embarrassing introduction
to Beyonc long story
short, Holm got caught up
in a star-struck moment
meeting Jay Z and, before
realizing who she was talking to, asked his wife what
her name was when the two
were introduced. Through it
all, Holm has seemed to win
over the masses with her
candid demeanor and honest
approach to the experience
of a lifetime.
That she embraced the
opportunity in such a gracious manner may not surprise those who know her
best. But neither should it
surprise those same people
to know that Holm also
embraced the opportunity to
train for just such a moment.
Earlier this year, Holm
participated in the UFCs
first Athlete Summit,
focused on small classroom
settings with several of
the men and women on the
promotions lengthy roster
of fighters from around the
world.
One of the topics we
discussed during the PR
and marketing classes was
the concept of seizing the
moment following a victory
or key moment in time in
your career, Sholler said.
Holly demonstrated exactly
how to do that following
her historic championship
victory in Australia. In the
days that followed, she had
one of the most demanding
press schedules weve ever
seen following a victory
inside the Octagon and she
absolutely delivered.
Thats a statement not
many thought would be
uttered in the weeks leading
up to UFC 193. In fact, aside
from being wrong with her
bold proclamations of victory, Rousey was also seemingly misguided in her prediction of how Holm would
handle a win.
I think that shell really
enjoy her life a lot more
(if she loses), Rousey said
on Oct. 28. The life of a
champion, I think isnt for
everybody. ... Shes the kind
of person where after I beat
her and she makes a lot of
money, Im like, Good for
her. Buy yourself an Albuquerque house with that.
Sure, its been a small sample size so far, but the early
returns for Holm as one of
the new faces of the sport
have been promising.
Holly has handled the
newfound superstardom
with class and fearlessness,
and shes absolutely seized
the moment, Sholler said.
The best part is shes having fun doing it and shes
never once treated it like
a chore. Shes living in the
moment, and it has made the
process enjoyable for everyone involved.

May 11, 2013

Defeats Mary McGee by unanimous

decision at Route 66 in her final boxing
match, leaving the ring with a career
record of 33-2-3 with nine knockouts
and 16 world titles.

May 29, 2013

Signs four-fight deal with MMA promotional company Legacy FC. Terms of
the contract allow her to leave for the
UFC if and when the time comes.

July 19, 2013

Sept. 16, 2005

Defeats womens boxing legend Christy

Martin by unanimous decision at Isleta.

In Houston, defeats Alanna Jones by

second-round KO (head kick) in her
Legacy FC debut.
Timeline photos by Roberto E. Rosales, Greg Sorber
and Pat Vasquez-Cunningham of the Journal;
and the Associated Press

Nov. 14, 2015

In Melbourne, Holm upsets Rousey in

sensational fashion a second-round
TKO (head kick, punches on ground)
to claim the UFC womens bantamweight title.

Dec. 6, 2015

A parade is to be held in Holms honor,

concluding with a ceremony at Civic
Plaza.

DAVID M. RUSSELL/DISNEY ABC HOME ENTERTAINMENT AND TELEVISION

Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan talk with Holly Holm during
the production of LIVE with Kelly and Michael on Nov. 23.