PUEBLO, Colo. – When the PBR’s Unleash The Beast makes its annual stop in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a few things are guaranteed:

1. Rank bull riding.

2. A loud, raucous crowd.

3. Holly Holm.

The renowned UFC fighter has become a regular at the Ty Murray Invitational, presented by Isleta Resort & Casino.

“I come every year,” Holm said. “I sometimes come more than once while they’re here for the year. I love it.”

Indeed, she was at The Pit for two of three days of competition this past weekend.

Holm was born in Albuquerque and grew up in nearby Bosque Farms. Though just half an hour down the road from New Mexico’s largest city, her hometown provided her a childhood spent roaming free in the outdoors.

“We never had cattle of our own or horses or anything like that, but my mom’s from Wyoming, out in the country,” Holm said. “My dad grew up on a farm in Colorado. So they were very outdoors, and always had us outdoors.

“So even though I never did actual rodeo of any kind, we still rode a lot of horses, we were still around a lot of livestock and everything like that.”

While Holm never ventured into Western sports, her brother used to compete in saddle bronc riding and was a fan of the PBR. It was this interest that turned Holly into a fan when she was a teenager: she wanted to hang out with her brother, and her brother wanted to hang out with the PBR.

“He would always actually be telling me how much of a fan of Ty Murray (he was),” Holm said, lowering her voice to imitate a male pitch. “‘You know who Ty Murray is? He’s from here. You know who he is?’”

Laughing, she continued, “He would always want to come, and so I came with him and my family, and we’d always enjoy coming. So it’s been awesome. I look forward to it every year.”

Not only does Holm know who Ty Murray is, she regularly rubs elbows with the nine-time World Champion cowboy at his namesake event. A former UFC bantamweight champion known for her shocking upset of Ronda Rousey in 2015, she has the glittering pedigree to match his.

When Holm is in the crowd, she becomes part of the show, participating in skits with Flint Rasmussen before joining the cowboys on the back of the chutes to watch the action up close. Though her impossibly long, blonde hair stands out like a beacon amongst a sea of cowboy hats, Holm fits right in, chatting, laughing and taking pictures both with and of the riders.

“I love it!” she enthused while waiting on the chutes for Sunday’s championship round. “It’s good people, good energy, and number one, a sport that 99% of people would never even try to do. There’s a lot of respect I have for them, and a lot that they put on the line every time. How do you not love it? There’s just too many things to love.”

Holm doesn’t have a favorite rider to root for, but says that she tends to have a soft spot for hometown guys. Scottie Knapp of Edgewood is currently the only New Mexican on the premier series, and gritted out a 71-point ride hanging off the side of Undertaker to go 1-for-3.

RELATED: Knapp: “That was my goal: be on tour by Albuquerque”

“I get excited for people that are from Albuquerque or from New Mexico, but I like to watch everybody just make 8 seconds,” she said. “Everybody wants to see that. And then the competition from there is the score. I want everybody to make it. I cheer pretty much for everybody.”

But the ultimate question: between UFC fighters and PBR cowboys, who’s tougher?

Though Holm recognizes that only fighting several times a year, if that, means the stakes of each fight are higher, she credits bull riders for doing something not many people would be brave enough to do.

“I think you have to be tougher to get on a bull,” Holm said. “I bet you there’s fewer people in this world that would get on a bull than would fight. You’re fighting someone your size as a fighter, but in here, you’re up against a few thousand pounds of muscle.

“I would never sit here and say it’s (tougher) to be a fighter. It’s not. Can’t say it. I think there’s a lot riding on it, but it’s tougher to be a bull rider, 100%. I give them all the credit, 100%.”