Despite long odds, Holly Holm understands hurdles in fighting Ronda Rousey

Holly Holm, right, throws a long right hand at Raquel Pennington during their women‘s bantamweight bout at UFC 184 on Feb. 28 at Los Angeles. Holm gained a split-decision victory in her Ultimate Fighting Championship debut. (Jayne Kamin/USA Today Sports)

A quick look at the odds would suggest Holly Holm is getting in way over her head when she steps in the octagon to challenge UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey for the belt in the main event of UFC 193 on Saturday in Melbourne, Australia.

Holm is currently a better than 10-1 underdog in the fight.

While she will take her best shot at defying the oddsmakers, Holm at least has withstood the first test presented to Rousey’s opponents.

Holm says she hasn’t been overwhelmed by the increased media attention that comes with taking on the most popular fighter in the world.

“I feel like it’s gone about how I thought it would go. I’ve mostly been able to focus on training. I’ve been getting worked up here and there with my emotions just wanting to do my best training, but I’ve been good,” she said by phone before taking off for Australia. “The media has been fine. There’s been plenty of it, but it’s been fine.”

It will only pick up throughout the week as the fight gets closer.

Rousey herself had a bit of a hiccup last week when she apparently hung up on a conference call after she was asked a question about her relationship with UFC heavyweight Travis Browne. Holm was on the call, but cautioned against making too big a deal of the incident.

“I don’t know what happened there and I’m not really worried about it. She’s an emotional person and I think that passion has helped her have the success she has in a lot of ways,” she said. “Maybe some things get to her and she doesn’t have patience for certain things, but it’s really not any of my concern to be honest.”

Holm is no stranger to title fights. While the spotlight wasn’t nearly as big as the buildup to this fight at 70,000-seat Etihad Stadium, Holm was one of the most successful female boxers in the world.

She is a 19-time world champion in boxing that has quickly risen through the ranks with a 9-0 mark in mixed martial arts.

While Holm said there is little crossover between the sports in which she has competed at the highest level, she has brought some lessons to the cage.

She believes one such lesson will help her deal with Rousey on Saturday night.

“Boxing and MMA are very different and I don’t like to compare them too much, but I’ll tell you what I have faced is some mentally tough opponents,” she said. “I know I’ve been there before. It’s not something that intimidates me, it just drives me.”

In addition to the added attention, Holm has to deal with competing at an odd time half-a-world away.

She got some advice from teammate Kyle Noke, an Australia native who will also compete at UFC 193, about how to handle the flight and acclimating to the time once she arrives.

Beyond that, she’s keeping it simple.

“We train in the morning here and I’ll be there a week early. We’re going to be fighting in the middle of the day so I’m not really worried about it,” she said of headlining a pay-per-view event that will begin at 2 p.m. Sunday in Australia in order to air in the traditional broadcast time in the United States. “There’s a lot of things that are going to be different or out of the ordinary, but nothing too much to handle.”

The event also includes a women’s straw-weight title fight between Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Valerie Letourneau and a heavyweight rematch pitting Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva against Mark Hunt.

PATRICK WEIGHS IN ON ROUSEY — NASCAR star Danica Patrick knows a thing or two about the marketing of female athletes.

She told The Sporting News one of Rousey’s biggest strengths as a pitchwoman is her ability to remain true to herself.

“I feel like she does a really good job of being who she is, I think that’s what people see in her,” Patrick said. “I feel like when I see her, I see Ronda. I feel like she’s being honest and upfront. We as consumers love to see that.”

Yet another company has put its faith in the dominant champion. Rousey has agreed to an individual endorsement deal with Monster Energy drink, the company announced in a press release last week.

“We are excited to welcome Ronda to our team,” said Mitch Covington, vice president of sports marketing at Monster Energy. “Not only is she regarded as the world’s most dominant athlete, but she is also an inspiration to all as one of the most iconic MMA fighters of all time with her unsurpassed drive, commitment, star power and worldwide crossover fan base that has made her a true champion.”

UFC fighters Daniel Cormier and Conor McGregor have previously signed deals with Monster, which also has an agreement in place with the UFC.

Rousey has several endorsement deals in place, notably starring in a Carl’s Jr. ad earlier this year.

BELCHER DONE FIGHTING — Former UFC middleweight contender Alan Belcher announced his retirement from the sport during a broadcast on Periscope last week.

Belcher told viewers of his live stream he has decided to concentrate on his business full-time.

“I’m done fighting. I’m finished. I’ll never, ever fight again. This is my official retirement. I really feel like talking to instructors and gym owners, business owners is my calling now,” he said, according to a transcription by MMAFighting.com. “That’s what I really want to do. I really believe that I could go down that road and fight again, but this is more important to me. I like teaching martial arts. I want to continue teaching students all over the world in my online businesses, so this is my official retirement. That’s it. I’m not really going to shed a tear or anything. I’m done. I don’t care. I don’t want to get hit anymore.”

The 31-year-old amassed an 18-8 professional record, which includes a 9-6 record in the UFC. He dropped his last two fights after winning four in a row.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj