Everything You Need to Know About Holly Holm Ahead of UFC Fight Night

Holly Holm is one of the most recognizable names in women’s MMA. She was a crucial part of the boom that the UFC saw with MMA. Her biggest moment under the sun came when she upset Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 in Australia. It was the most attended UFC show at the time, and it shot Holm into the stratosphere.

But how did she get there? What has she done that led to her main eventing a Fight Night opposite Irene Aldana? Here is everything you need to know about Holly Holm.

Holly Holm: The boxer

Holly began her journey into the world of combat sports as a boxer. She had a small stint as an amateur kickboxer before this, where she went 6-0-2. But Holm’s ascent into combat sports began in the boxing ring.

Holm was tearing up the welterweight division and held multiple world championships in the sport. In fact, she was named Ring Magazine’s Female Boxer of the Year in 2005 and 2006.

She had an 11-year career as a pro boxer and left the sport as one of the greatest female boxers of all time. Her exit was classy too, as she left boxing with the IBA female, and WBF female light welterweight championships wrapped around her waist.

Holly Holm and her rise through MMA

Despite her successes as a boxer, her name in mainstream media grew because of her exploits as a cage fighter. She had an impressive run in small independent promotions, including a fight with Bellator, before joining the UFC with an 8-0 record.

She beat Raquel Pennington in her UFC bantamweight debut at UFC 184. Holm won another fight against Marion Reneau before being booked to face then-unbeaten world champion, Ronda Rousey.

Holm stunned Rousey in one of the biggest upsets in MMA history at UFC 193. She knocked Rousey out with a head kick in the second round to become a champion in a fight where she was largely overlooked. However, that peak did not last long.

Holm lost three consecutive fights after the Rousey win. The first was a title loss to Miesha Tate at UFC 196, followed by a Fight Night main event loss to Valentina Shevchenko. She then lost a controversial decision to Germaine de Randamie in her featherweight debut.

She won three of her last five fights, proving that the Rousey win might be the apex of her career. Her wins have been solid, knocking out Bethe Correia in her return to bantamweight. She followed that up with unanimous decision wins over Megan Anderson and Raquel Pennington again in her last fight. However, those two wins had two losses wedged between them.

After the Correia win, Holm challenged featherweight champion Cris Cyborg in a Fight of the Night affair. Cyborg won by unanimous decision.

Holm also challenged Amanda Nunes for the bantamweight title after her victory over Megan Anderson. That fight ended in the first round, with Nunes winning by TKO.

What is next for Holm?

Her next fight with Aldana is crucial. It will be her last attempt at proving that she can still be a top-tier contender. Losing to Cris Cyborg and Amanda Nunes isn’t a black mark. But with losses to other top contenders on her resume like Shevchenko and GDR, one can question her longevity.

She reached a giddying high with her Rousey win. Everything after that felt unspectacular. Maybe nothing will be that spectacular for Holm again.

What we know is that she is probably going down in history as one of the best fighters in female combat history. Her pedigree as a boxing and MMA champion is unmatched. She is a slight favorite over Aldana, so expect another classic performance from “The Preacher’s Daughter.”