Holly Holm lost a majority decision to Stephanie Han in their lightweight title rematch in El Paso on Friday night and expressed frustration with the scoring, saying she felt she clearly won the fight.
“I feel like I was dictating the pace, I do feel like she won a few rounds, but not six. You have to win six rounds to win a ten round fight, I don’t give her six rounds and I feel it in my heart that I won, I’m a very honest and self-reflecting fighter. If I don’t feel I won then I’ll say it but I did.”
Holm also pointed to the broader frustration of fighting in a sport where judges hold so much power.
“Here’s what’s frustrating about it; a lot of these judges haven’t fought before. You leave a piece of yourself in there every time and then it’s just up to them to take it away from you if they want. Every fight you put so much into it. If I didn’t feel like I did enough, I wouldn’t be saying this. I feel I won the fight.”
Despite the loss, Holm made clear she still wants the Katie Taylor fight.
“I still want the big fights and to call out Katie Taylor, hopefully I can still do that.”
Two judges scored the fight 96-94 for Han with one judge having it a draw. The original meeting between the two ended in a technical decision after a clash of heads caused a cut to Han. Holm, 44, is a Boxing Hall of Famer and a former UFC bantamweight champion.
Ronda Rousey says she is confident she would beat Holly Holm in a rematch and credits new medication for allowing her to fight without the neurological issues that affected the final stages of her UFC career, but insists she has no interest in fighting again.
Rousey addressed Holm directly on Up and Adams following her retirement after submitting Gina Carano at MVP MMA 1.
“I said I’m retired, A and B, I think that I am a completely different fighter now. I would clean her clock and definitely now that I got that new medication. I took it before. I was diagnosed with cortical spreading depression, which was always happening in my last fights and basically why I was like I need to stop. I thought my concussions were catching up to me. This is the first fight where I was able to take it and when I spiked my head into the mat, that’s exactly the kind of thing that would have set me off before. I would have lost big chunks of my vision and it didn’t come back at all. It ended up working perfectly in a live situation.”
Rousey said the things she once wanted most no longer hold the same weight.
“I’m better than I’ve ever been. I have better coaches than I’ve ever had. I finally don’t have these neurological issues that I had before. But now that I have it all set in front of me, I’ve changed and the things that I want have changed and suddenly these aren’t the most important things in the world to me anymore. It’s these kids and spending time with them.”
She was unequivocal about the rematch never happening.
“I think I definitely have the ability and the opportunity to be able to f*cking clean her clock and rewrite all of that but it’s no longer important to me anymore. It doesn’t haunt me. It’s not the most important thing in my life and these people’s perceptions and knowing how great I am and all this stuff. I know how good I am and my kids need me in their life and I want to be there for them.”
Holm knocked out Rousey in 2015 to claim the UFC bantamweight title in one of the biggest upsets in MMA history. Holm has previously said she would always be open to a rematch.
Holly Holm says she highly doubts Ronda Rousey will ever accept a rematch, but made clear the invitation has always been open and always will be.
Holm spoke to MMA Fighting ahead of her boxing title fight against Stephanie Han on Saturday, with Rousey’s name coming up repeatedly following her 17-second submission of Gina Carano at MVP MMA 1.
“Yes, a lot of talk with the Ronda fight. I highly doubt she’ll ever want a rematch. I always have said since the minute the last fight was over, I’ll always rematch her. That’s always been available. But she wanted to come back and have this win and go back and enjoy and have a win like that. No hate from me. I hope she does well. I hope she does whatever she wants with her life. That’s her life. I’d always be open to fight her again.”
Holm was not surprised by how the Rousey-Carano fight ended, having witnessed Rousey do the same to ranked UFC fighters in her prime.
“She did that a lot to women who were ranked at the top, Ronda was still doing that. You can’t judge someone who lost like that. You know what? It takes a lot of courage to step back in when you haven’t felt that in a long time and in that many years.”
Holm also praised Carano for what it took to return after 17 years away.
“To be able to come back after time off, it’s uncomfortable. Fights are uncomfortable. I don’t like it. I hate fight week. I hate fight day. I always have. It is very uncomfortable and that’s why a very small percentage of people can actually do this. It’s not just the physical aspect you put your body through. It is more emotionally and mentally. For her to come back and face it, that takes a lot of courage, too.”
On Holm’s own legacy, she expressed pride in what her knockout of Rousey represented.
“The whole reason why me beating her was such a big deal is because she was so dominant. You have to have a dominant champion in order to have a big upset. So I have all the respect for her and to her. I’ll never say anything negative. But then there’s like the fighter pride of things and a win is great but also to try to win that good or put that much of a stamp on something, anybody would be lying if they said they weren’t proud of it.”
Holm fights Han in a boxing lightweight title rematch on Saturday. The original bout ended in a technical decision after a clash of heads caused a cut. Holm, 44, is a current MVP boxing signee.
Holly Holm prepares to make her highly anticipated return to the boxing ring but she’s not fully closing that proverbial cage door forever either. The former UFC bantamweight champion covered several subjects during her recent interview on The Ariel Helwani Show with a focus on her signing with Jake Paul’s promotion, MVP. While she is a big name acquisition for Most Valuable Promotions and is excited to return to the sweet science, there is still the possibility of more MMA action someday for ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ as Holly Holm said,
“I wanted to do both regardless. I did. I wanted to do both if I could… There was already some days I was just boxing anyway when it was kind of questionable on the fence. So I’ve actually just kind of been training boxing, focusing on boxing for, I guess, the last couple months.”
“I’m excited for it. I’m excited—it’s, you know, when I first came to MMA, I was so excited about it that I didn’t really miss boxing. But then over time it started to kind of just—you know, if I had teammates that might have… even if we were just sparring boxing in practice… when I do it, I’m like, man, I kind of miss it. So I’m excited to be able to get back in there and just get back to just dialing in on just the boxing.”
Holly Holm, GFL, and MVP
Holm continued, “I still love MMA as well. I don’t know if I’ll—I mean, I would love to fight again in MMA, but that’s just—I like to let life kind of unfold. I have goals and things that I like and things I know I’m passionate about, but I also like to take a day at a time, a fight at a time, you know, and just ride the wave.”
The continuation of Holm’s MMA career was initially slated to take place in a few days on the since-cancelled Global Fight League cards. Holm was booked to fight former Bellator MMA featherweight champion Julia Budd before the news of GFL 1 being scrapped came out. Holly Holm is now set to box unbeaten pro Yolanda Guadalupe Vega Ochoa on the June 28 undercard for Jake Paul vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Ronda Rousey’s former coach, Edmond Tarverdyan, has admitted that accepting a $4.5 million payday for Rousey to fight Holly Holm on short notice was a critical mistake. Speaking on Dark Side of the Cage, Tarverdyan revealed that financial incentives played a major role in the rushed decision—a choice that ultimately led to one of the most shocking upsets in UFC history.
The fight, which took place in November 2015, ended in devastating fashion, with Holm delivering a brutal head-kick knockout in the second round. Rousey, who had dominated the women’s bantamweight division up until that point, was left physically and emotionally shattered. Many fans and analysts speculated at the time that she wasn’t at her best, and now Tarverdyan has confirmed those concerns, admitting that insufficient preparation played a key role in her downfall.
“I regret it,” Tarverdyan said, acknowledging that the decision to take the fight so soon was influenced by the massive financial offer on the table. “We should have waited.”
This revelation highlights the difficult choices fighters and their teams must navigate—balancing lucrative opportunities with the need for proper training and recovery. In Rousey’s case, the rushed timeline didn’t just cost her a fight; it altered the trajectory of her career.
As Dark Side of the Cage continues to explore the highs and lows of MMA’s biggest names, Tarverdyan’s candid admission offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at a decision that changed the landscape of women’s MMA forever.
Holly Holm is on the lookout for her next career move in combat sports.
2024 marked Holm’s 10th year competing in the UFC, where she made a splash early on by defeating the previously unstoppable Ronda Rousey to capture the women’s bantamweight crown.
Change is coming for “The Preacher’s Daughter” in 2025, though.
Uncrowned’s Ariel Helwani revealed this week that Holm and the MMA leader have mutually agreed to part ways, with the promotion allowing the ex-champ to pursue other opportunities with two fights remaining on her contract.
It’s unclear what lies ahead for the 43-year-old, who is part of the Boxing International Hall of Fame, but Helwani did note that she’s open to options in both the cage and ring.
Breaking:
Holly Holm has parted ways with the UFC and is now a free agent.
She had two fights left on her deal, asked to explore other opportunities and the UFC obliged.
She plans on continuing to fight and is open to MMA or boxing, her long-time agent Lenny Fresquez tells…
After her shock upset of Rousey in 2015, Holm struggled to find consistency inside the Octagon, going 5-7-1 across her subsequent 13 bouts.
The veteran’s most recent win came over Yana Santos in 2023, the same year in which she had a submission loss to Mayra Bueno Silva overturned to a no contest owing to a failed drug test from the Brazilian.
Two-time PFL champion Kayla Harrison regained her joy for mixed martial arts competition when she entered the UFC Octagon for the first time.
Harrison jumped into the deep end in 2024, committing to a weight drop that appeared unrealistic in the eyes of many in order to realize her dream of competing on MMA’s biggest stage.
Having won a pair of gold medals in judo and found championship success inside the PFL SmartCage, Harrison set her sights on a long-discussed pursuit of UFC gold. And that got underway in the perfect way.
Harrison has since acknowledged her enjoyment throughout fight week and inside the Octagon. That feeling, as it turns out, was something she was missing during the latter part of her PFL stint.
Kayla Harrison Relished UFC ‘Challenge’ After Unexciting Period
During a recent appearance on UFC Unfiltered, Harrison looked back on her first taste of the UFC experience, both outside the cage and opposite “The Preacher’s Daughter” on fight night.
In addition to advancing her competitive goals by immediately breaking into the bantamweight rankings at #4, Harrison spoke about the positive impact the change of scenery has had on her.
Put simply, she is enjoying fighting again.
“It’s tough because, first of all, I f*cking love the UFC. I am a company girl now, through and through,” Harrison said. “The level of professionalism, the level of excitement, the energy, the employees’ enthusiasm, their kindness. I was just like, ‘Hell yeah!’ I was cutting a bunch of weight, so I was kind of riding that energy high all week.
“It felt a lot like the Olympics. Not as big… but it felt very similar,” Harrison continued. “Like, ‘Oh sh*t, here I am. This is what I’ve been training my whole life for. Every single part of my story led me to this moment.’ And when I stepped in the cage, man, (I was) calm, cool, and collected… I enjoyed the whole process. I was super pumped to fight Holly. Listen, I’ve fought a lot of tough fighters, but I think it had been a while since I was excited to fight. I don’t really fight for money. I wanted a challenge.”
A brand new episode of #UFCUnfiltered featuring Kayla Harrison (@KaylaH) and comedian Che Durena just dropped‼️🎙
While Harrison focuses on journey toward another piece of gold in combat sports, her former employer continues to take digs at her.
During a recent appearance on the Weighing In podcast with John McCarthy and Josh Thomson, PFL founder and chairman Donn Davis branded Harrison a “follower who needs validation.”
In this article published on this day six years ago, Chuck Liddell offered to help Ronda Rousey improve her striking skills after “Rowdy” suffered her first career loss at the hands of decorated striker Holly Holm at UFC 196.
The following article is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.
On This Day Six Years Ago…
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 5, 2016, 1:19 PM]
Title: Chuck Liddell Calls Holly Holm A “Real Striker,” Says Rousey Needs Help & Offers To Train Her
TMZ.com recently caught up with UFC Hall Of Famer Chuck Liddell, who claims he would happily help Ronda Rousey train her striking, which he admitted she needs if she wants to beat UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion and former multiple-time women’s boxing champion Holly Holm in a rematch.
“The Iceman” is one of the clearest-cut examples in the short history of MMA of an elite striker who only used his wrestling and grappling ability to avoid going to the ground or help him get back to his feet if he was taken down. For proof, look no further than the all-time record for knockouts in UFC history, which is still held by Liddell at 13 KOs in 23 appearances inside the Octagon.
For the record, former women’s boxing champion Laila Ali agrees with Liddell as well.
Liddell was asked about Rousey’s trainer Edmond Tarverdyan, who as a former professional boxing trainer is the man responsible for Rousey’s level of striking ability, and admitted that she isn’t on former women’s boxing champion Holly Holm’s level when it comes to striking.
“Is it the guy who told her she could out-strike Holly Holm? Is that the same guy?” said Liddell in sarcastic fashion when asked about Tarverdyan by the TMZ reporter.
After the comedic portion of his response, Liddell followed up with a politically correct statement regarding the improvement Tarverdyan has helped Rousey obtain in the striking department since the former Olympic gold medalist in Judo made the transition to mixed-martial-arts.
“Ronda’s striking has greatly improved. He’s done a great job with her striking,” said Liddell after giving his opinion that Holm is still on another level in the striking department compared to Rousey. Liddell pointed out the fact that there’s a significant gap in talent between a “real pro striker,” which he called Holm, and Rousey, who is a decorated Judo player that has been adding striking to her game the past few years.
Whether or not Rousey seeks out Liddell’s assistance in helping her further develop her stand-up game remains to be seen, however, she may have a chance to prove he and the critics wrong as it was announced by UFC President Dana White this week that November is when Rousey is likely to fight for the title, as she is expected to challenge the winner of the UFC 196 co-main event between Holly Holm and Miesha Tate for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship.
Unfortunately for Rousey, she will have to do it without help from Edmond Tarverdyan on fight night.
UFC is targeting a high-level bantamweight bout for their May 21 main event.
The promotion is in the process of making a fight between Holly Holm and Ketlen Vieira, per a report from Ariel Helwani. The fight is being lined up to headline a “Fight Night” card in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
The fight gives Vieira the chance to make another big move up the bantamweight division. While currently seated at #5 in the official UFC rankings, she is being paired against Holm, who is #2 at the moment.
Vieira picked up a big win in November, going five rounds to defeat former UFC Bantamweight Champion Miesha Tate via unanimous decision. The bout stopped the climb of returning contender Tate, who was appearing for the second time since coming out of retirement.
The fight put Vieira back into the win column after suffering a loss earlier in the year to Yana Kunitskaya. It was also her debut in the main event spot of a UFC card.
Six months after Vieira’s last win over a former champ, she will get the opportunity to beat another.
Holly Holm Returning From Absence
Getty Images
Holly Holm’s next appearance will mark her return to the cage, as she has been out of competition since October 2020. She was booked for two appearances in 2021, although both fell through due to suffering injuries.
Holm returns with some momentum, as she previously scored two victories in 2020. She started the year off with a win over Raquel Pennington. She later returned to go five rounds against Irene Aldana for a unanimous decision victory.
As previously mentioned, Vieira is only making her second headlining appearance. The same cannot be said for Holm, who has appeared in eight previous UFC main events.
Who do you see winning in a fight between Holly Holm and Ketlen Vieira?
If Kevin Holland taught MMA fans anything recently, it’s don’t challenge professional fighters on the mats. But if there’s one person who goes against the grain and does what others warn against, it’s Steve-O.
From swimming in shark-infested waters with a hook in his mouth and wearing a jellyfish on his head like a sombrero to sending fireworks shooting out of his backside and being flung in the air like a yo-yo inside a portable toilet (don’t google this one, you’ve been warned), the Jackass star performs stunts and enters situations that would never end well for him.
We can also add ‘grappled a former UFC champion’ to that list.
In a 2020 video recently uploaded to Instagram by the Jackson Wink MMA gym, the 47-year-old can be seen grappling with former UFC women’s bantamweight champion and current #2-ranked 135-pound contender Holly Holm.
In a matter of seconds, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt drags Steve-O down with ease, takes his back, flattens him out, and sinks in a rear-naked choke.
Are we sure there’s no time to add this as a scene in the upcoming Jackass Forever film?
In a scene in the latest installment of the fan-favorite TV and film series, “The Predator,” who boasts the hardest recorded punch in history, delivered a shot flush to the gentleman’s area of “Danger” Ehren McGhehey.
For fans, specifically male ones, nothing is more painful to see in an MMA contest than a kick, knee, or punch to the cup. What’s that I hear you say? What could be worse?
How about a clean, fully-loaded shot to the crown jewels from a man capable of sleeping anybody on the planet with as much as a graze?
With another Jackass star falling at the hands of a UFC fighter, the question is, who’s next? How about a Brazilian jiu-jitsu match between Johnny Knoxville and Mackenzie Dern?
Who had it worse, Steve-O against Holly Holm or “Danger” Ehren against Francis Ngannou?
Former UFC bantamweight champion Holly Holm appears to be flirting with a potential return to boxing.
Holm hasn’t competed since October 2020, when she earned a dominant win over Irene Aldana. Before that, she had earned a decision win over Raquel Pennington at UFC 246.
Holm was supposed to face Norma Dumont in a featherweight bout last year but had to withdraw after suffering a knee injury in training. She was replaced on just days’ notice by Aspen Ladd, who would go on to lose to Dumont decisively.
Despite being right in the thick of things in the UFC title picture at bantamweight and featherweight, Holm isn’t ruling out a return to her roots in the boxing ring. During a recent interview with FightHype.com, she described her possible motivation for returning to the ‘sweet science.’
“I miss boxing,” Holm said. “it’s always going to be a part of my heart and so you never know. You know maybe I will go back and a lot of these people are going also. A lot of fighters are trying to go back and forth and nobody is doing it successfully.
“Not a lot of people can do it successfully but I can. I know I can, I know I can go back to boxing and still be a champion.” (h/t EssentiallySports)
Holly Holm Earned Multiple World Titles In Boxing
Before making the full-time transition to MMA, Holm had been regarded as arguably the top female boxer in the world. She successfully defended her belts a total of 16 times in three different weight classes.
After retaining her IBA and WBF light-welterweight titles, Holm went on a run to the UFC bantamweight belt. She would go on to eventually pull off one of the greatest upsets in UFC history over Ronda Rousey at UFC 193.
It’s unclear when Holm will eventually return to the Octagon, but it appears that all options are on the table for her combat sports career. She still seems intent on challenging for the UFC title once again.
How do you think Holly Holm would fare against some of the top female boxers today?
Katie Taylor has been on a roll in her career in the boxing ring so far, and she has her eyes on superfights with Cris “Cyborg” Justino and Holly Holm.
Taylor is 20-0 in her professional career with six knockouts, having most recently defeated Firuza Sharipova to defend her five lightweight titles. She’s also been in talks to potentially fight fellow boxing star Amanda Serrano in 2022.
But Taylor has big plans for her future in the ring, which includes potential crossovers against the likes of Justino and Holm. During a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Taylor addressed the prospects of MMA-Boxing crossover fights and continuing to make history.
“I know there was mention of those fights,” Taylor said. “But I don’t think we ever seriously talked about it. Obviously, their names came up over the last few years and there’s still huge possibilities that those fights can happen.
“If they’re the fights that people want to see, I’d absolutely love to be involved.”
For now, Taylor awaits her next fight in the ring, which likely could come against Serrano, who won this weekend on the Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley 2 card.
How do you think Katie Taylor would match up with the biggest names in women’s MMA?
Former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Holly Holm believes it’s “feasible” she could be the first challenger to Julianna Peña’s reign on the 135-pound throne.
Since her last title shot, a brutal knockout loss to former titleholder Amanda Nunes in 2019, Holm has surged back to contention with unanimous decision victories over Raquel Pennington and Irene Aldana. However, injuries have stalled the 40-year-old’s pursuit of regaining the belt and joining Rose Namajunas in the two-time champ club.
“The Preacher’s Daughter” was set for an apparent title eliminator against Peña at UFC Vegas 26 in May. After being forced out due to hydronephrosis, Holm found herself sidelined while “The Venezuelan Vixen” was accelerated to the title.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMnGD-ZpHmV/
Having had her return fight against Norma Dumont in October also called off, this time due to a knee injury, Holm’s string of bad luck means she was unable to enter the Octagon in 2021 and it’ll have been well over a year since her victory over Aldana when she does make the walk again.
That, understandably, has frustrated Holm to a great degree. Nevertheless, she’s recovering and says she won’t let her injuries and problems “break” her.
“I’m super frustrated,” Holm said when speaking to MMA Fighting. “I definitely am on the mend. I hope to be back in there, back training and get back in there. I’m feeling a little better. I had to take care of some things. It’s super frustrating, especially when I see people fighting, especially [Nunes vs. Peña] but all the time.
“Any time I watch the fights, it’s so frustrating cause I want to get in there so badly. I don’t want to embrace not being able to fight but I’ve been very fortunate to have a career where I’ve been pretty active. This last year’s had some stuff that’s been kind of from left field. I’m handling it. I’m going to keep pushing forward. I’m not going to let it break me and I want to be back in there very soon.”
Holm Sees Peña Matchup Being Resurrected
Holly Holm, Julianna Pena
Despite her lengthy layoff, Holm believes there’s a chance she’ll find herself in her sixth UFC championship fight when she makes her comeback. Having previously been scheduled to face Peña, the veteran thinks there’s a chance that matchup will be re-visited soon, this time with the belt on the line.
After Holm’s injury saw Peña secure a title shot, the challenger did the unthinkable. At UFC 269 earlier this month, “The Venezuelan Vixen” brought the fight to Nunes like few had done before her. After hurting the “Lioness” on the feet, Peña dragged the Brazilian to the mat and submitted her in what was undoubtedly one of the greatest upsets of all time.
Holm, who knows a thing or two about upsetting the odds, believes it’s “feasible” she returns to face the champ before Nunes has her chance to regain the gold.
“It’s honestly, that’s a very feasible thing [that Peña could be next],” Holm said. “You never know what’s going to happen. Are they going to say let’s rematch right away? There’s been times a fighter will say ‘I need a little more time before a rematch’ or ‘I need this, I need that.’ So you never know what’s going to happen.”
But before that, Holm will have to ensure she’s 100% ready and fit for a return, and the fact she can’t say she is at the moment is clearly an annoyance for “The Preacher’s Daughter.”
“So yeah it’s super frustrating. I want to be right back in there. I want to be able to say hey, I’m ready to fight whoever, whenever. I’m real close to that. It’s super frustrating for sure.”
Given her age and experience in the sport, it stands to reason Holm’s return will signal her final charge for a second title crowning. With how the current champion got there, anything is certainly possible.
How do you think a fight between champion Julianna Peña and former titleholder Holly Holm would play out?
Holly Holm is going to be a part of the 2022 class in the Boxing Hall of Fame.
The former UFC bantamweight champion is known for her incredible striking ability that has led to her winning some of the biggest fights in the sport’s history. Because of this, it is easy for some fans to forget that prior to switching to MMA, Holm had incredible credentials in the world of boxing too. She was 33-2 overall, winning WBF, WBC, IBA, and WIBA belts during this time.
However, the world of boxing has not forgotten about her accomplishments and has actually decided to induct her as part of the 2022 class for the Boxing Hall of Fame. She will be joining the likes of Roy Jones Jr., Miguel Cotto, Regina Halmich, and James Toney, among other non-boxer entires.
This is a massive honor and something that Holm is proud to have. She took to her Instagram to react to the news, expressing how she was at a loss for words, being selected for induction into the Boxing Hall of Fame.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXM4ashPG0D/
“I’m sure I’ll have more to say going forward as I am a little lost for words. I am truly humbled and so honored to be acknowledged with the greats of boxing,” Holm wrote. “I couldn’t chase my dreams without such a strong support system. From my coaches, family, friends, management, teammates and fans. I am forever grateful and also even more motivated to achieve so much more in my life. I love combat sports as it will always be a part of who I am. It’s in my blood and I love it! From the bottom of my heart-Thank you!!!!”
It is great to see that Holly Holm being recognized for her time within the sport of boxing. She is more than deserving of this induction, and it shows the impact that she had in the ring.
