UFC Releases Former Champion And Future Hall-Of-Famer

UFC President Dana White said he wanted Holly Holm to retire. Holm doesn’t want to retire, so the promotion has granted her release, per The Uncrowned’s Ariel Helwani.

Holm, 43, still had two fights left on her UFC contract, but per Helwani, she asked to become a free agent so she could pursue other opportunities.

Holm’s agent, Lenny Fresquez, says his client is open to a return to boxing or fighting in other MMA organizations.

During Holm’s legendary career in the UFC, she tallied an 8-7 record with one no contest. Holm won the UFC women’s bantamweight championship in November 2015 when she scored a head-kick KO win over Ronda Rousey in one of the biggest upsets in MMA history.

Holm lost the title to Miesha Tate in her first defense, but over the course of her career, she fought a who’s who of women’s MMA. Here is a list of the top fighters and former champions Holm faced and her record against them:

• Raquel Pennington: 2-0
• Ronda Rousey: 1-0
• Miesha Tate: 0-1
• Marion Reneau: 1-0
• Valentina Shevchenko: 0-1
• Bethe Correia: 1-0
• Irene Aldana: 1-0
• Germaine de Randamie: 0-1
• Ketlen Vieira: 0-1
• Cris Cyborg: 0-1
• Amanda Nunes: 0-1
• Kayla Harrison: 0-1

Besides Julianna Peña, Holm has fought every woman who ever wore the UFC women’s bantamweight crown. She’s also fought all three of the former UFC women’s featherweight champions.

Quite honestly, many will say she was robbed in her unanimous decision loss to de Randamie in 2017. Had that decision gone Holm’s way, she would hold double-champion distinction.

The accomplishment Holm has that we may never see again is her status as the only person to be a legitimate world champion in both boxing and MMA.

Based on that and a few of her legendary wins, Holm should be a lock for the UFC Hall of Fame.

Holm’s UFC career didn’t end on a strong note. She was easily defeated by Harrison via second-round submission at UFC 300 in April and has been inactive since the defeat.

At 43, Holm doesn’t have a ton of fighting ahead of her. She is an accomplished boxer, but the game has changed since she boxed full-time. It’s tough to imagine her stepping into the ring and defeating fighters like Amanda Serrano, Mikaela Mayer, or even Claressa Shields, but there’s a chance she could make a solid paycheck against those women.

Holm trained with Shields when the latter was preparing for MMA, so they’re familiar with one another.

Holm could potentially sign with the Professional Fighters League to compete as a featherweight, or she could look at the Global Fight League, where they are embracing older fighters on their roster.

It’s tough to say which route makes more sense, but it depends on Holm’s goals. If she is looking to maximize the time she has left in combat sports while collecting the biggest paydays, moving to boxing might be the best option.

However, if she aspires to capture more championship gold, the GFL could be an attractive option for Holm.

No matter what, it’s been a strong run for the former champion.