Coach Mike Winklejohn has helped lead Holly Holm to lots of success in boxing and MMA, including helping Holm win the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Title at UFC 193.
When it comes to the subject of Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino, the famed MMA coach says his star pupil has no issues taking her on inside the Octagon.
“Well, it’s not for me to second-guess what’s going on in Germaine’s head,” Winkeljohn said on Submission Radio. “That’s a tough one with Cyborg. There’s no doubt in my mind Holly would never turn down a fight. We were offered the Cyborg fight some ways back, but she couldn’t make the weight. This whole 145 division is new to everybody, but with that being said, you know what, I think maybe Cristiane needs to be not in trouble with any kind of testing for a good year first before anybody’s willing to fight her. And also, she has been busted for it in the past and it’s tough. It’s easy for people to say outside, ‘hey, you should fight her,’ but how do I say it, she’s not what she used to be. She’s chemically changed and some things just aren’t fair on the table. You can’t blame Germaine for that.”
Holm is headlining this Saturday morning’s UFC Fight Night: Singapore card, where she faces Bethe Correia.
Winklejohn believes that at UFC Fight Night: Singapore, it is going to be Holm getting the finish.
“I think Holly is going to stop her before the end of the fight, there’s no doubt about that,” Winkeljohn said. “I think Holly can just pick her apart when she wants. In many ways, she’s got some new tools people haven’t seen before. Bethe is as strong as they come. She’s a counter-puncher, she punches hard, she comes in, she’s very good with the double underhook and she likes to press people against the cage and tries to control the space that way, but hopefully we have a, and we do, have a plan to defeat everything she’s got coming to the table with.”
UFC Fight Night: Singapore takes place on Saturday, June 17 from the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore with Holly Holm and Bethe Correia headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which streams live on UFC Fight Pass.
