Holly Holm KO’d Ronda Rousey and now wants UFC Hall of Fame honour to add to boxing inclusion

Holly Holm has already established herself as one of the greatest combat sports athletes of all time but she’s intent on achieving more.

Before transitioning to mixed martial arts in 2011, Holm was a three-weight world champion in boxing who made 18 title defences across a 38-fight career in the sport.

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Nine years after leaving boxing behind to fully focus on MMA in 2013, Holm was inducted into the Hall of Fame for her accomplishments in the sport and heavily linked to a comeback fight against Katie Taylor.

However, she now appears to have committed herself to MMA at 41 years old after signing a new six-fight deal to stay with the UFC who helped her become a genuine fight star.

Holm said ahead of UFC San Antonio: “We kind of talked about if something like that came up if we could ever figure something out, I don’t know. But my mind’s set on MMA right now.”

While Holm is understandably delighted to join the Boxing Hall of Fame, she’s still intent on achieving more in MMA and is hoping she can become a two-time UFC champion before calling it a career.

She added: “I’m just really humbled and honoured to be considered amongst the greatest. Male and female, it’s not just like a female boxing Hall of Fame, this is the Hall of Fame in boxing.

“To be considered with the greats you looked up to and admired, these household names is very surreal and really different too because I’m still fighting.

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“I don’t really know a lot of fighters that are still fighting that have been inducted. So, sometimes I have to always like make sure my mindset is still on achieving and not like, ‘Oh, that was awesome, I achieved this.’

“I am still trying to work for something more and it gives me motivation. It would be awesome if I could be in the Hall of Fame for this sport too and be the first to ever do that.”

Holm’s place in the UFC Hall of Fame is almost certain due to her massive impact on Dana White’s MMA promotion.

‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ made it look easy when she transitioned from boxing and quickly amassed a 9-0 record before being booked to face UFC superstar Ronda Rousey.

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Holm was a massive underdog in the fight but shockingly became the first fighter to beat ‘Rowdy’ when she knocked her out inside two rounds in November 2015.

Since then, she’s lost six of her last ten fights but Holm remains one of the best bantamweight fighters on the planet ahead of her latest outing.

On Saturday, the fight legend will square off against Yana Kunitskaya in her first bout since a controversial decision defeat to Ketlen Vieira in May 2022 brought an end to her two-fight win streak.

Holm hopes a win at UFC San Antonio on Saturday night will move her one step closer to another shot at the bantamweight title she won by beating Rousey and last held in 2016.