It’s the end of an era for Holly Holm
and the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.
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The former bantamweight queen has been granted her UFC release to
explore other options. Ariel Helwani was first to report the news on Wednesday. According to longtime
agent Lenny Fresquez, Holm could pursue fights in either MMA or
boxing. Though she parted ways with the UFC with two fights left on
her contract, there is no animosity between fighter and
promotion.
“It’s been a great relationship,” Fresquez told the Albuquerque Journal. “This is just about Holly
taking advantage of other opportunities in her last few
fights.”
In addition to being a former UFC title holder, the 43-year-old
Holm is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame who has
compiled a 32-2-3 mark in the Sweet Science. Holm initially made
the transition to MMA in 2011 and won seven consecutive bouts
before making her UFC debut in 2015. “The Preacher’s Daughter”
skyrocketed to stardom with her knockout of then champ Ronda
Rousey at UFC 193, a victory which was regarded as one of the
biggest upsets in the sports history.
The Jackson-Wink MMA standout has faced many of the sport’s biggest
names during her UFC tenure, earning victories over the likes of
Raquel
Pennington (twice), Irene
Aldana, Yana Santos
and Megan
Anderson, among others. She last appeared at UFC 300, where she
suffered a second-round submission loss to Kayla
Harrison on April 13. Holm went 8-7 with one no contest during
her Octagon tenure.