The ‘Preacher’s Daughter’ has not fought since dropping a decision to Ketlen Vieira in May 2022.
Holly Holm is returning to the Octagon.
Damon Martin and Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting report that Holm vs. Yana Kunitskaya is joining the line-up of an upcoming UFC Fight Night, scheduled for March 25 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Kunitskaya confirmed the report on her social media.
“My Christmas gift arrived early,” wrote Kunitskaya on Twitter. “Thank you [UFC] for always giving me an opportunity to reach high. I couldn’t be more happy, top three opponent in my returning fight, sounds like a dream.”
The former UFC bantamweight champion has not fought since losing a split decision to Ketlen Vieira at UFC Vegas 55 this past May. She underwent surgery shortly after and expected a return in early 2023.
Prior to the loss to Vieira, Holm was on a two-fight win streak that included decisions of Raquel Pennington and Irene Aldana at UFC 246 and UFC Fight Island 4, respectively.
Kunitskaya suffered a first-round TKO loss to the aforementioned Aldana in her most recent appearance at UFC 264 last July. ‘Foxy’ spent time away from competition after announcing she was expecting her first child with former UFC fighter Thiago Santos in August. She is 4-2 in her past six appearances.
With the addition of Holm vs. Kunitskaya, the UFC Fight Night has four confirmed fights. Here is the current line-up:
Maycee Barber vs. Andrea Lee
Chidi Njokuani vs. Albert Duraev
C.J. Vergara vs. Daniel da Silva
Holly Holm vs. Yana Kunitskaya
Stay tuned to Bloody Elbow for more updates to the event as they become available in the coming months.