UFC San Antonio saw Holly Holm get back to her winning ways in the co-main event against Yana Santos. This bout marked Holly’s return to the cage after almost a year. In a strong showing, the 41-year-old won every round. However, it wasn’t her dominant victory that got the fans riled up. Rather, it is what she spoke about in her post-fight Octagon speech.
‘The Preacher’s Daughter‘ touched on the subject of the sexualization of America’s youth and the unfortunate circumstances surrounding it. After her victory speech, Holm said, “I got one more thing, something that’s been on my heart and I feel like I have the platform to say it. I need to say it. I just feel it’s really sad, all this sexualization of our children right now and we need to protect them. Whatever that may be, let’s protect the children please do anything we can to help.”
Holm used the promotion as a platform to give a very courageous reminder about one of the most common and sensitive topics ongoing in today’s society. According to The New York Times, tech giants have reported about 45 million pictures and videos of children being sexually exploited in 2019. The American culture has become more sexualized, victimizing children to adult exploitation.
As per reports, today’s social media platforms and the internet, in general, suggest sexual themes, visuals, and messages to children at a very young age. Content that was once considered indecent for the youth is now being thrown at today’s children through advertisements and even video games. According to The American Academy of Pediatrics, an alarming 42% of young children between the ages of 10 to 17 have watched pornography online.
Holly Holm explains her post-fight speech
During her post-fight presser, the Albuquerque resident spoke about her aforementioned speech. Holm clarified that her post-fight speech wasn’t intended to target particularly the leftists or the right-winged party. The UFC bantamweight expressed that everyone should be on the same page when it comes to certain subjects while putting all our differences aside.
Holly Holm explains why she used the platform of her #UFCSanAntonio post-fight interview to speak out about the sexualization of children.#UFCSanAntonio | Full video: https://t.co/f3wyzrR4if pic.twitter.com/98tnbG96TL
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) March 26, 2023
The former kickboxing champion spoke about child trafficking and labeled it as “the extreme part”. Holm insinuated that there are other exploitative activities occurring as well but at lower and much smaller prior layers. “You just see it almost being accepted, and I think that that’s really sad,” added Holly.
Holm’s speech draws mixed reactions from fans
Despite showcasing immense support to children through her Octagon interview, the 41-year-old received mixed reactions from the MMA community. Some fans believe it was thoughtful of Holm to use the platform for sharing such a powerful message rather than choosing to celebrate her much-needed victory. However other fans are criticizing her for making her speech specifically targeting the “leftists”.
Now that is a real true champion. Mad respect to her
— Randy (@randyrios78) March 26, 2023
I knew Holly was the boss…👍💪🙏😎
— Kevin Vaughn Hammontree (@KevinsWorld64) March 26, 2023
Protecting children is right wing? What would that make the left?
— Julio (@J_liiio) March 26, 2023
Look at your church first. 🤮🤮🤮
— Wayne Halcomb (@WayneHalcomb13) March 26, 2023
I see Holly Holm upset the sad and pathetic groomers.
— Patrick Kenna (@CEater75) March 26, 2023
Whether she meant to trigger a particular political party or not, Holm sure did generate a lot of buzz around it. Fans and supporters are all praise for the 41-year-old for her bold move. Do you think more fighters should use this platform to speak up on sensitive issues? Let us know in the comments down below.
