The title challenger trains out of Jackson-Winklejohn, a camp that has faced a lot of criticism lately, but Holm is coming to the defense of her longtime team.
?I am very prideful of my team, and I?m very thankful for my team, and I?m going to say this right now: It has never been different,? she told MMA Junkie. ?Coach Winkeljohn and coach Jackson are the most loyal, good coaches out there. They genuinely want you to win (and) they genuinely will be there. They?ve always been there. I?ve never had an issue. (I?ll say), ?Coach, I need to work on this ? what time?? There is so much wanting you to succeed, and that is why this team has been built just off of passion and hard work. There?s no big business money people behind our gym. None. You see a lot of these other big MMA gyms out there, and they have all this help and this backup from a lot of these sponsors and people with money, and our gym has been built off of passion and hard work and love for the sport, and that comes from the top.?
Donald Cerrone and Diego Sanchez both left the camp in recent months, with Cerrone criticizing Jackson-Winklejohn upon leaving.
Holm has been with Jackson-Winklejohn for a long time now and the former champion loves the team that she is with.
?Any time there?s emotional things going on with the fighters, I will tell you right now that that is none of it,? she said. ?The skill level of coaches is the best in the world, and the passion, and genuinely want for you to succeed, that?s No. 1. Money is last. There?s no way our gym would be built the way it?s built if money was No. 1. And so whatever people are having, I?m not here to talk trash about others, but I am going to say you can come into the gym and that is 100 percent how it?s been, and I have been part of this team longer than anyone on our team. I?ve witnessed it from start to finish, and that?s why (I love) the team we have.?
UFC 239 takes place on Saturday, July 6 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada with Jon Jones and Thiago Santos headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.