Athletes
Joseph Holmes Sees Things Coming Together
UFC Middleweight Joseph Holmes Has Adapted And Persevered On His Road To Being His Best At UFC 288: Sterling vs Cejudo.
Things have gotten easier for Joseph Holmes since we last checked in with him before his October fight with Junyong Park.
How much easier? Well, for his last camp, Holmes would travel with his lady, Kailey, seven-and-a-half hours each way from Dallas to Kansas City each week.
This time, the pair travel four hours each way from Dallas to Houston twice a week.
Progress?
“We still got to do what we got to do, because I’ve got to have training partners, I’ve got to have world class coaches and I found that at WAR,” said Holmes.
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The longtime home to veteran standout Trevin Giles, WAR has filled in the blanks Holmes needed after previous coach James Krause’s suspension, and while the trips are shorter and the work is still top-notch, what Holmes does to get ready for a fight does fit into the “above and beyond the call of duty” category, even if he might not agree.
“I’ve definitely got to make sacrifices to feel confident and I feel like I have been doing that.”
He has. But why?
“This is my dream since I first started,” Holmes said. “I've dreamt about being where I am, and when I got here, there are a lot of moments where you can be in your own mind, and being in my own mind, I don't want this to end. I remember when I was first starting, I was so passionate about reaching my goal and dream that I was willing to sacrifice anything. I sacrificed time with my kid, and he's six now. I missed a lot of time with him when he was younger, I missed a lot of time when I could have been working a nice job saving money, just out here sacrificing, being broke all the time just to train, just going month to month. And those are the sacrifices I had to make to get to where I am. So now being here, I'm like, okay, I gotta step it up. If I want to get as good as I have to get to win these types of fights, I’ve got to sacrifice even more.”
UFC 288 Fight By Fight Preview
Those eight-hour round trips aren’t so Holmes can get a home cooked meal or sleep in his own bed in the middle of camp. It’s to make sure the time sacrificed with his son Alister isn’t sacrificed anymore. It’s a reminder that while athletes at the UFC level are superheroes on fight night, when the gloves are off, they’re often just dad or mom, real people with real lives.
But gloves on or off, those eyes are always watching, and Holmes has been a gentlemanly example for his son to see.
Joseph Holmes Submits Amedovski In Round 1 UFC Fight Night Holm vs Vieira
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Joseph Holmes Submits Amedovski In Round 1 UFC Fight Night Holm vs Vieira
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“I don't know if it's so much of thinking there's people watching me, but I don't want to blow this opportunity I have by having a hot head,” said Holmes. “Even before it was this opportunity, I've always kind of been that way. I've never been ‘the fighter.’ I've never been the aggressive guy trying to start stuff and pick on people. I've never been that guy. Any fight on the street, I've always just tried to talk myself out of it and walk away. So, even now, when I walk and just carry myself, I'm really not worried about who's watching. I just try and treat people how I want to be treated.”
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There’s no better lesson to be taught, and when you add in the work ethic he’s shown in trying to make his way up the middleweight ladder, Alister has seen that while all this stuff isn’t glamorous, it does lead to something good. So good that he’s passed on t-ball and told his mom that he wants to be like dad.
“I was excited for him to do something new and his mom told him about that and he's like, ‘No, I want to do what dad does,’” Holmes laughs. “And she was like, ‘Are you sure?’ And I asked him too, ‘You sure?’ I told him anything you want to do, I will support that. Anything, even if you change your mind, I will support whatever you decide. And he's like, ‘I want to do what you do. I want to fight.’”
Oh boy, get ready for Uglyman Joe 2.0 in a couple decades, but for now, it’s dad’s job to do the fighting, and while he’s not exactly where he wants to be after going 1-2 in his first three trips to the Octagon, he was able to put his October loss to Junyong Park in the rearview mirror and move on…well, after a little bit of reflection.
“It took a lot of time in my own head to realize I got finished for the first time,” said Holmes, who was submitted in the second round. “I've been beaten on two decisions, but never got murdered out there. So it took me a little bit of time to think about it and process it and look at where I went wrong and things like that. And hats off to Junyong Park - he's a beast and I'm honored to have got to experience that with him. I feel now since then I've gotten a lot better as far as the things I'm looking for in my rounds and just the different things I'm trying to work on as an athlete and a fighter.”
The 27-year-old is confident that a move to .500 this Saturday against Claudio Ribeiro will get his 2023 campaign off to a good start and put him on the right path. After that, the only direction is up.
“Things are coming together,” said Holmes. “I hired a guy who really resembles my opponent - same height, same build, same style - to come over and spar with me. We got some rounds in and, man, I feel amazing after those rounds. So yeah, I think things are coming together. I do feel like my skillset belongs at this level, and I don't think that my last fight defines me. I think that all of my fights define me and this fight's just another notch in my belt for me to show where I belong.”
UFC 288: Sterling vs Cejudo took place live from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on May 6, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass
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