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Fighter who humbled Ronda Rousey returns to boxing over a decade since her last fight
12 years is a long time in any sport, with the landscape at the top drastically changing. After over a decade away from boxing, Holly Holm is set to return to the ring at the age of 43.
This is no return from obscurity for the American, with Holm a world champion as both a boxer and a UFC fighter.
She has kept herself active by working her way through the ranks of the MMA world, but now the woman they call the ‘Preacher’s Daughter’ has her sights set on adding a boxing title at a fourth weight class.
This weekend, Holm begins that journey on the undercard of Jake Paul’s bout with Julio César Chávez Jr, with the combat sport veteran facing Mexican Yolanda Vega.
What is Holy Holm’s history as a boxer?
Holm competed as a professional boxer between 2002 and 2013, winning 33 bouts, nine via knockout, losing twice, and drawing a further three times. During her first stint as a boxer, Holm earned 16 world titles of varying recognition, most notably serving as WBA and WBC champion at welterweight.
Initially fighting at super lightweight, Holm’s best years were at welterweight, before the American went on to find success at super welterweight.
Her most recent fight was in May 2013, when she defeated Mary McGee via unanimous decision to defend her IBA and WBF super lightweight straps.
What is Holy Holm’s background in combat sports?
Even before Holm fully departed the sweet science to focus on her mixed martial arts career, she had dabbled in other combat sports.
In fact, she won national tournaments as an amateur kickboxer, before pursuing a professional career in both disciplines.
Eventually, she settled on boxing, quickly excelling with her fists. In her 11th fight, she became a world champion for the first time, defeating Terri Blair to claim the IBA super-lightweight title. It would be the first of many world titles for the Preacher’s Daughter from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
While the sport of boxing has been littered with various titles with confusing levels of prestige for some time, the women’s game in the early 2000s arguably saw more organising bodies anointing world champions.
Holm was the inaugural WBA welterweight champion, winning the first ever title by defeating Angelica Martinez in June 2005.
In 2005 and 2006 Holm was named The Ring’s female Fighter of the Year, establishing her star status in the sport.
The big four sanctioning bodies in the men’s game took their time in establishing titles at every weight for female fighters, but in 2007 Holm became viewed as undisputed at welterweight after picking up the WBC belt by defeating Ann Saccurato, unifying it with her WBA strap.
Whilst still boxing, Holm took her first steps in the world of mixed martial arts, winning two fights organised by her boxing promoter, Lenny Fresquez. Two stoppage victories attracted the attention of Bellator, with Holm adding another knockout to her record by finishing her fight with Katie Merrill in the second round during Bellator 91.
Shortly after she would announce her retirement from boxing, confirming her intention to focus on her MMA career. Her stint with Belator was short-lived, Holm moving on to Legacy Fighting Championship months after her final boxing match.
After winning the inaugural Legacy FC women’s bantamweight championship, Holm would move on to the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2014, signing a multi-fight deal with the UFC. After a split decision win on her debut against Raquel Pennington, and a unanimous decision victory over Marion Reneau, Holm was lined up for a fight with Ronda Rousey, the face of women’s MMA.
A huge underdog heading into the fight, Holm dominated the bout with Rousey, finding a high-kick knockout to claim the UFC’s bantamweight title. Her success made her the first person to win a world championship in boxing and MMA.
Holm would lose her title in her first defence, with Miesha Tate victorious with a rear-naked choke. She would step up in weight to contest the inaugural UFC women’s featherweight title against Germaine de Randamie in 2017.
Holm would lose via unanimous decision, but there was huge contention as de Randamie twice caught her opponent with punches after the end of the round, having to be stopped by the referee on both occasions. No points were deducted, leading Holm to approach the New York State Athletic Commission with an appeal to overturn the result. However, the appeal would be rejected.
Holm would bounce between bantamweight and featherweight, challenging for the titles at both weights. She would lose to Cris Cyborg for the featherweight championship in 2017, before being defeated by a TKO from Amanda Nunes in a 2019 attempt for the bantamweight belt.
Ultimately, she would leave the UFC with a final record of 15 wins, seven losses, and one no contest, with eight of her victories coming by way of knockout.
Why is Holly Holm boxing at a lighter weight?
Interestingly, Holm will be returning to boxing a lighter weight than when she left the sport, having become a world champion in three different divisions. Typically, when a boxer ages, they naturally step up in weight, with their bodies growing denser and the ability to lose the pounds diminished.
But Holm has remained at the 135lbs mark during her days in MMA, highlighting how she is more than capable of competing as a lightweight inside of the ring.
Of course, returning to the sweet science at a lower weight also opens the door for Holm to campaign for a world title at a fourth weight, a feat achieved by just five other women.
In a post shared on Most Valuable Promotions’ Instagram, Holm was quoted as saying: “Coming full circle back to boxing, I’ve spent most of my MMA career at 135 pounds, and now I have the opportunity to make my boxing debut at that weight. With boxing titles in three higher weight classes under my belt, I’m eager to pursue a fourth title in a new division.”
Who is Holly Holm’s next opponent?
Holm will not be eased back into the ring, with an undefeated fighter her first opponent upon her return to boxing. Yolanda Vega may not be rated by any of the four major sanctioning bodies in the sport, but the Mexican has built a decent resume of 10 wins from 10 bouts, one of which she managed to end inside the distance.
Having only ever fought inside her home country of Mexico, 30-year-old Vega is somewhat of an unknown quantity.
Holm and Vega face each other on the undercard of Paul-Chávez Jr on Saturday, June 28th, live on DAZN PPV.
Speaking about the upcoming bout with Ariel Helwani on his YouTube channel, Holm shared: “We’ve watched a couple of fights with her. She’s got some clean punches, she’s tough, and she’s confident. I’m not putting anything past her. And I honestly think that she’s going to be more prepared for this fight than she has been. And I expect to get the toughest version of her.”
What does the title picture at 135lbs look like?
Matt McNulty/Getty Images
The lightweight title picture has fractured since 2024, when undisputed champion Katie Taylor opted to focus on her super lightweight titles.
One by one each of the big four belts have been snapped up, with four different champions at 135lbs.
British duo Caroline Dubois and Terri Harper have made plenty of noise about fighting each other in a unification bout, dampening Holm’s chances of facing either for a world title shot in the near future.
Dubois is the current holder of the WBC’s strap, Harper successfully defending her WBO title last month against Natalie Zimmermann.
Olympic medallist Beatriz Ferreira is the reigning IBF champion, the Brazilian using her standout amateur career to secure a world title fight in just her fifth bout as a pro.
Out of the quartet of champions, one name stands out as a realistic target for Holm: fellow American Stephanie Han.
Han currently holds the WBA title at lightweight, having earned the vacant strap with a victory over Hannah Terlep in her 10th professional fight.
This month, it was confirmed that Han had joined Most Valuable Promotions’ roster, potentially facilitating a fight with her new stablemate Holm.
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