Holly Holm Must Go Though Valentina Shevchenko To Return To Winning Ways

The moment the lights started to go out late in the fifth round against Miesha Tate at UFC 196, Holly Holm — rapidly losing consciousness, along with her UFC bantamweight title — found herself on the other end of things.

Just four short months earlier, Holm was on top of the world after putting an end to the dominant championship reign of Ronda Rousey in devastating knockout fashion.

But after Tate choked out Holm to claim the championship, she was the one left lying in the octagon.

Clearly, Holm is disappointed that she lost her belt. Nobody wants to drop the title one fight after winning it, but in keeping with her businesslike manner, Holm has moved on. Next up is Valentina Shevchenko in the main event of UFC Fight Night Chicago, and Holm is calling the Kyrgyzstan product the toughest fight to date in her MMA career.

“She’s no joke,” Holm said. “She’s got a lot of experience in her standup. She’s been in every situation you could imagine. She is a very well-rounded fighter, good on her feet, good in the clinch and very strong. There are a lot of things I have to look out for in this fight.”

Back at home after the loss to Tate, surrounded by teammates and coaches at the famed Jackson/Winklejohn gym in Albuquerque, N.M., Holm continued working every aspect of her game to prepare for Shevchenko.

Since making the move from boxing to MMA, Holm always has believed that a steady diet of every discipline is the best way to prepare to fight in the octagon. Even before going against Tate, whom many believed held the obvious advantage on the mat, Holm believed she was prepared if the fight went there.