How long was Holly Holm champion? Exploring “The Preacher’s Daughter’s” title reign

Holly Holm has been recognized as a trailblazer in women’s MMA and boxing, with a combat sports career that has spanned more than two decades.

Prior to her debut in MMA in 2011, Holm initially began her career as a professional boxer, achieving victory in her inaugural match in 2002. She would later establish herself as one of the most formidable champions of her era, securing numerous female welterweight titles in organizations such as IBA, WBF, WIBA, and WBAN.

In 2013, she made the decision to end her career in pugilism and shift her focus to MMA. She left the sport with an impressive record of 33-3-2.

After competing for MMA promotions like Bellator and Legacy FC, ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ eventually made the transition to the UFC in Feb. 2015.

In the same year, by November, she had only fought in three matches for the promotion, yet she was given the opportunity to compete in the most significant fight of her career against the seemingly unbeatable Ronda Rousey for the women’s bantamweight championship.

The events that followed would go down as one of the organization’s most shocking upsets in history, as Holm completely dominated Rousey and ultimately secured victory with a devastating head kick and subsequent punches that left Rousey unconscious.

Not only did Holm win the title, but she also received a performance, fight of the night, and knockout bonus. Additionally, her victory was recognized as the ‘KO of the Year’ for 2015.

Despite initial expectations for a lengthy title reign for Holm, she was unable to successfully defend her belt in her next fight and ultimately lost to Miesha Tate just four months later.

Despite her attempts, Holly Holm was unable to capture the women’s bantamweight title again or claim the women’s featherweight title.

Holly Holm shares her thoughts on Amanda Nunes’ possible comeback

Holly Holm has recently commented on the speculation surrounding Amanda Nunes and her potential comeback to the octagon.

In June 2023, after successfully defending her bantamweight title against Irene Aldana, Nunes announced her retirement. She left the sport with the titles of women’s bantamweight and featherweight champion, solidifying her status as one of the greatest female MMA fighters of all time.

During her appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Holm was presented with the possibility of a rematch against Nunes, whom she had previously fought at UFC 239.

Despite any potential criticisms, Holm only had positive things to say about the Brazilian, stating:

”I’ve thought about it too, but I don’t know. I do think that she’s enjoying time off. She was pretty active, being a double champion and all that. I have all the respect for her in this sport. Another fighter that’s fought the top girls. You really can’t take anything away from Amanda.”

Watch Holly Holm’s remarks here (23.31):