UFC releases former champion and future Hall-Of-Famer

14
Jan 25
By | Other

UFC president Dana White said he wanted Holly Holm to retire. Holm doesn’t want to retire, so the promotion has granted her release Of the Uncrowned Ariel Helwani.

Holm, 43, still had two fights left on her UFC contract, but according to Helwani, she asked to become a free agent so she could pursue other opportunities.

Holm’s agent, Lenny Fresquez, says his client is open to returning to boxing or fighting in other MMA organizations.

During Holm’s legendary UFC career, she posted an 8-7 record with one no contest. Holm won the UFC women’s bantamweight championship in November 2015 when she scored a head-to-head KO victory over Ronda Rousey in one of the biggest upsets in MMA history.

Holm lost the title to Miesha Tate in her first defense, but during her career, she fought a who’s who of women’s MMA. Here is a list of the top fighters and former champions Holm has faced and her record against them:

  • Raquel Pennington: 2-0
  • Ronda Rousey: 1-0
  • Miesha Tate: 0-1
  • Marion Reneau: 1-0
  • Valentina Shevchenko: 0-1
  • Bethe Correia: 1-0
  • Irene Aldana: 1-0
  • Germaine de Randamie: 0-1
  • Ketlen Vieira: 0-1
  • Cris Cyborg: 0-1
  • Amanda Nunes: 0-1
  • Kayla Harrison: 0-1

Aside from Julianna Peña, Holm has fought every woman who has ever held the UFC women’s bantamweight crown. She has also fought all three former UFC women’s featherweight champions.

Frankly, many would say she was robbed in her unanimous decision loss to de Randamie in 2017. If that decision had gone Holm’s way, she would have held the dual title.

The one accomplishment Holm has that we may not see again is her status as the only person who is a legitimate world champion in both boxing and MMA.

Based on that and some of her legendary wins, Holm should be a lock for the UFC Hall of Fame.

Holm’s UFC career didn’t end on a high note. She was easily defeated by Harrison via second-round submission at UFC 300 in April and has been inactive since the loss.

At 43, Holm doesn’t have many fights ahead of her. She is an accomplished boxer, but the game has changed since she boxed full time. It’s hard to imagine her stepping into the ring and beating fighters like Amanda Serrano, Mikaela Mayer, or even Claressa Shields, but there’s a chance she could make a solid payday against those women.

Holm trained with Shields when the latter was preparing for MMA, so they are familiar with each other.

Holm could potentially sign with the Pro Fighter League to compete as a featherweight, or she could look to the Global Fighting League, where they are embracing older fighters on their roster.

It’s hard to say which path makes more sense, but it depends on Holm’s goals. If she’s looking to maximize her time left in combat sports while collecting the biggest payouts, a switch to boxing may be the best option.

However, if she aspires to win more championship gold, the GFL could be an attractive option for Holm.

Regardless, it’s been a strong run for the former champion.

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