Holly Holm Talks About "The Kick" That Downed Ronda Rousey

With her place firmly in the UFC history books, freshly crowned Women’s Bantamweight Champion has been caught up in a whirlwind of publicity in the weeks since her fight with Ronda Rousey, at one point being afforded the opportunity to personally ask Beyoncé what her name is. Sitting down with GQ, the antithesis of her opponent — quiet, composed and humble — discusses her love of training, the possibility of getting involved with Hollywood, and finally, about the kick that brought her to mainstream fame. Read the full interview online here, along with a bonus video of Holm discussing her chances in a fight with a grizzly bear.

“There were a lot of thoughts going through my head in that split second before The Kick. I knew that I had dazed her a little bit with the straight left before, and then we got tied up there. I just wanted to get her off so I could keep striking. But it was a slow motion moment for me. There was a lot of time in my mind. When she went down, as she was getting back up, I knew that it was time to capitalize. A fighter can always recover and you never know what they’re going to come back with. So I just kept telling myself not to kick her too soon, don’t kick her while her hands are on the canvas.”