Since switching over to MMA from Boxing, Holly Holm has faced some of the best the UFC has to offer. She has been able to gain experience from defeats against Amanda Nunes, Valentina Shevchenko, and Cris Cyborg. While also being able to pick up victories against Irene Aldana, Former UFC Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey, and current champion Raquel Pennington twice. However this weekend she was tasked with welcoming two-time PFL champion Kayla Harrison to UFC.
Holly Holm went into this fight against Kayla Harrison as a big underdog and ended up on the wrong end of a completely one-sided defeat to Harrison. Since suffering this defeat she has revealed frustration that she wasn’t able to execute her plan against the former PFL Champion. The fight ended after 7 minutes due to a second round Submission (Rear Naked Choke) for Harrison. Holly Holm was only able to land 8 significant strikes.
Holly Holm Statement
Holly Holm released the following statement since the defeat. In this statement, Holly Holm is humble and gracious. Holm acknowledges the errors in not following the plan her team had set out.
“Well, none of that went how I had envisioned over the last 10 weeks of this training camp,” Holm said on Instagram. “I have no excuses. I have all the best coaching, best teammates, best sparring – all the help that I could have even dreamed of asking for. I went out there and lost all focus on the game plan. I did nothing that we trained for in this fight. And all the respect to Kayla. She was the better fighter tonight.”
“I just know I’m capable of more than that. I’m one of those that likes to self-reflect rather than run from things. I think that honesty with yourself can be sometimes the hardest thing. But I’m healthy. My heart hurts. My ego hurts. But I just wanted to say thank you to all the fans that stood by my side and, of course, my team. My coaches. My family and my friends. I appreciate you and I’ll be back.”
Dana White Calls For Retirement
In her last 4 fights, Holm has only been able to pick up one victory against Yana Santos by decision. This has left questions about her future in the Bantamweight division. Holly Holm has vowed to return to the octagon in the hope that she can turn things around and hopefully clinch the title once again. However, the UFC CEO has had other views about the future of Holm. Dana White stated at the post-fight press conference that he would like to see her retire.
If it is any consolation to Holm this isn’t the first time Dana has said for a fighter to retire. Dana White said UFC middleweight Chris Weidman should retire after his defeat to Brad Tavares. This was after Weidman returned after a horrible leg break. Weidman However, didn’t listen to Dana White and has since clinched a victory over Bruno Silva by decision.
Featured Image Credit to Embed from Getty Images
