It’s all right there on the screen:

A lot of young women could stand to learn quite a lot from “The Preacher’s Daughter” about how to be classy. This is a lady who punches other women in the face for a living. She is really freakin’ good at it. And yet, listening to her speak in her interviews, she is really down-to-earth, has plenty of domestic skills, and cares deeply about her family and friends.

Oh, and she has a roundhouse kick that even Chuck Norris would find scary.

I have to say, I was pissed when I found out that Holly Holm lost her fight at UFC196 against Miesha Tate. I really wanted her to defend her belt; it was very refreshing to see a quiet, respectful, humble, gracious champion holding the women’s bantamweight belt.

Sadly, it didn’t happen; Miesha showed that Holly’s ground game needed work. Now, it’s not that Holly doesn’t have skills in grappling or wrestling or jiu-jitsu– that would be downright stupid to argue, given what she showed in her (epic) knockout victory over Ronda “Do Nothing Bitch” Rousey. But she’s clearly a striker by nature, training, and vocation, and it’s tricky (though far from impossible) for great strikers to also become great grapplers quickly.

(In my limited experience- and it is limited- I have found that it is often even harder for great grapplers to become great strikers. Again, there are a few exceptions here and there- Dominick Cruz, for instance, started out as a wrestler but is one of the most dazzlingly inventive, evasive, and skilled strikers that I’ve ever seen. But on the whole, there seems to be something about starting out on the ground that makes it difficult for such folk to win on their feet. I don’t know what it is, and would welcome informed opinions on the subject.)

But all of that is behind Holly now. She has a chance to prove that she’s as good as I think she is, and potentially line up another shot at the title. I certainly hope that she will win against Shevchenko; if nothing else, it should be a rather good striking clinic.