Jackson Wink MMA has been in the headlines recently with a couple of disgruntled fighters publicly voicing their grievances. Former UFC bantamweight champion Holly Holm is not one of them, and she took it upon herself to inform the world why:
“Absolutely I want to win it for them, because they believe in me,” Holm told MMA Junkie of Jackson Wink at Media Day. “Doesn’t matter what the outside world thinks, I can walk into the gym, and I always tell people that’s where I feel most normal.”
One of the aforementioned disgruntled fighters was long-time Jackson Wink fighter Diego Sanchez, who, like, Holly Holm will be competing at this weekend’s UFC 239 event. Sanchez was quoted as saying that all attention leading up to the event went towards main and co-main event headliners Jon Jones and Holly Holm. For the latter, she believes that if there is one thing that cannot be said about the coaches at Jackson Wink it is that they are disloyal to their fighters:
“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,” Holm said. “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?’
“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.”
Another fighter whose criticisms created a much bigger ruckus in the media is Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone who accused Coach Winkeljohn of being both disloyal and money-driven. Holly Holm shot down these criticisms:
“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.
“They’re going to believe in you honestly in the gym. They’re not going to tell you they think you can do it just to blow hot air. They genuinely believe it, and with that belief, they want to help you achieve it. They know it’s not going to be easy. Yes, you can do this, but you’ve got to do it right. That’s why you see multiple champions coming out of the team.”
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