Holly Holm is no stranger to facing tough odds.

When she stepped into the Octagon with Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 back in 2015, Holm was as much as a 10-to-1 underdog according to the betting lines. 

At the time, Rousey was considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet after walking through her past four opponents in just over two minutes of total time spent in the cage. 

Rousey was well on her way to legendary status, but less than two rounds into her fight with Holm, she was laid out on the canvas as a victim of one of the most vicious head-kick knockouts in the history of the sport. 

Holly Holm had shocked the world. 

On Dec. 30, Holm will face a similar situation at UFC 219 in Las Vegas, as she takes on Cris "Cyborg" Justino — a fighter who hasn't lost in more than a decade while putting on some of the most ferocious performances in the history of the sport. Put simply: she's torn through every single contender that's been placed in her path. 

Cyborg might be one of the most feared fighters on the planet — and that's exactly why Holm wants to fight her. 

"I want to do things in this world and in my life that haven't been done before," Holm told FloCombat ahead of UFC 219. "If there's no female that's done it before, guess what? I want to do it. That's something that's always driven me. I'm a driven person. That's something that really drives me. 

"I want to fight the best and beat the best. That's what I want for me personally."

Revisionists have tried to take away some of the glory that Holm enjoyed after her historic win over Rousey. Following the defeat, Rousey largely faded into the shadows, only returning for one more fight — a UFC 207 title fight versus Amanda Nunes that ended in less than one minute.

Rousey has faced criticism for the way she handled the loss to Holm, then she became the brunt of attacks from all sides when she fell to Nunes last year before all but retiring from the sport of mixed martial arts. 

Suddenly, Rousey's dominance is somehow being discounted as if she didn't go undefeated for four consecutive years while running roughshod over every fighter she faced and defending her title a record six times — a mark that still stands in the UFC women's divisions. 

"As much as people kind of think Ronda's done and over with now, she was the most dominant before I fought her," Holm said. "I think people really overlook the fact of how dominant she was before. Guess what? There were a couple of times in that fight where it could have gone one way or the other. If she would have come out with a win over me, people would be thinking and saying things a lot differently about her. 

"Now they're kind of like, 'Oh, maybe she was never tested before.' No, she was that dominant and I just beat her. It's factual."

It's tough to dispute the fact that Cyborg has been even more dominant than when Rousey was at her very best. Cyborg has gone largely untouched for the past 10 years with 12 straight knockouts and she hasn't gone to a decision since 2008. 

Cyborg carries a similar mystique into her fights just like Rousey did for all those years she was the top star on the UFC roster. Now just like when it was time for Rousey to face her downfall, Holm hopes to do the same to Cyborg when they meet at UFC 219 in Las Vegas. 

"Same thing with Cyborg: She's been that dominant and I want to beat her," Holm said. "I don't want there to be any excuses. That's why I want to take them at their best. I just feel like I have the opportunity to do that and I think I'm very capable. I think one of the things that a lot of girls were missing when they fought Ronda was that confidence in themselves when they walked into that ring. 

"That is something that I do have. Because I don't give myself the option to doubt myself or else you are done. There's no way you can make it through a fight. It is the most mentally challenging thing you will ever do in your life, and there's no way you will make it through and get a victory if you don't believe that you can do it."

By Damon Martin