Coach Mike Winkeljohn Says Holly Holm Is ‘Pissed,’ Wants De Randamie Rematch
JacksonWink MMA standout Holly Holm suffered a disappointing defeat at UFC 208, losing a unanimous decision to Germaine de Randamie in the inaugural UFC women’s featherweight championship matchup.
The bout, however, was not without controversy. From illegal blows after the bell to a questionable judges’ decision, the bout left plenty to discuss in its aftermath.
Monday during the FloCombat Road Trip, Duane Finley caught up with Head Coach Mike Winkeljohn to discuss the bout, Holm’s future, and more.
According to Winkeljohn, the loss—and the manner in which it happened—isn’t sitting well with Holm, and she’s ready to run it back.
“Holly’s pissed off, but she wants the fight over again,” Winkeljohn said. “She’s pissed off at herself because she knows she had her hurt. She hit Germaine--boom--dropped Germaine to her knees and pushed her against the cage instead of disengaging and finishing it.
“So she’s mad at herself. We wanted her to disengage, but her mind just wasn’t quite clear at that moment to do the proper game plan.”
While a rematch with de Randamie sits high on Holm’s priority list, Winkeljohn said a bout with longtime women’s MMA star Cris “Cyborg” Justino is on the table as well. That said, some stipulations need to be met before the matchup comes to fruition.
“Holly’s willing to fight anybody,” Winkeljohn said. “She’s never turned down a fight in her life. Her management and myself think Cyborg needs to be clean for a year. All that stuff affects—just give it a year, then I think Cyborg should come back. But there needs to be some time and penalties for taking stuff, period.”
Listen to the full interview with Winkeljohn—where he discusses the magic of JacksonWink MMA and much more—above.