Holly Holm will look to become Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women’s Bantamweight champion for the second time on July 6, 2019 when she faces off against current champ-champ, Amanda Nunes, in the co-main event of UFC 239 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Before then, let’s take a look back at the night Holly first become UFC’s female 135-pound champion. Back in 2015, “The Preacher’s Daughter — after winning her first three UFC fights — stepped into the cage against then-champion Ronda Rousey, who had run right through the competition en route to six straight title defenses.
Pegged as the face of women’s MMA at the time, Ronda was riding high as one of the top stars in the sport, and a win over a former pro boxer like Holly would’ve just upped her stock that much more.
From the jump, Ronda played the aggressor, staying on Holly and forcing her to utilize her feet movement early and often. Still, through the first minute, Holm was getting the better of the exchanges, busting up Ronda’s nose with her striking. While “Rowdy” did manage to take Holm down, her attempt to sink in her trademark armbar was unsuccessful.
Still, the story of the fight was Holly utilizing her pro boxing skills to own Ronda in the standup department, though Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg failed to point out that Ronda actually rocked Holly with a right hand with under a minute to go.
But a minute into round two, Holm clipped a visibly-exhausted Rousey with a straight left that dropped her. On her way up, “Rowdy” ate a left kick to the dome and and three more shots on the ground to suffer the first-ever loss of her career.
Despite their pre-fight beef, a worried Holly knelt down in front of Rousey as she was trying to recover from the brutal knockout defeat. Now, Holm will look to get back into the champions circle when she takes on the last women to defeat Rousey.
To see who else is competing at UFC 239: “Jones vs Santos” click here.