SAN DIEGO — Holly Holm took time finding her range. Marion Reneau didn’t seem overly enthused to engage.
And thus did a highly anticipated women’s bantamweight showdown turning into something that seemed a little bit off Wednesday night at UFC Fight Night 71. The judges scores were 30-27, 30-26, and 29-28.
Ultimately, Holm found her rhythm, controlled the pace, initiated the bulk of the contact, and did most of the damage in an oddly paced fight. And thus the former three-weight-class world boxing champion remained undefeated in mixed martial arts, improving to 9-0 with a unanimous decision at Valley View Casino Center.
The opening round set the tone for the fight, as Holm threw strikes from a long distance which always seemed a half-step off. Reneau, for her part, seemed tentative, content to counter.
Still, Holm connected often enough, especially with leg kicks, that they slowly began to take their toll as the fight went on. Late in the second round, the duo finally clinched, a sequence which ended with Holm slamming Reneau to the mat. The round ended with Reneau on the mat, Holm not wanting to follow her to the ground.
Holm continued to pick Reneau apart in the final round, and another clinch once again slamming her with just over a minute remaining. Holm cruised from there.
“You know I think I showed more than the last fight, but I still want to show more,” Holm said. “I always want to finish in there.”
Holm is now 2-0 in the UFC, while the 38-year-old Reneau (6-2) had a five-fight win streak snapped.