Holly Holm wasn’t able to capture gold in her return to boxing, but she could maybe get another chance to do so.
On Saturday, the former UFC champion and Boxing Hall of Famer challenged Stephanie Han for her WBA lightweight title in the co-headliner of a boxing event headlined by Amanda Serrano vs. Erika Cruz in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was her second boxing fight since leaving the sport to do MMA in 2013. Holm ended up losing a technical decision that read 68-65, 69-64, 68-65 on the judges’ scorecards.
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The bout between Holm and Han didn’t go the full scheduled 10 rounds. The bout was stopped by the ring-side doctor at the 1:44 minute mark of Round 7 due to a cut on Han’s forehead. The cut was caused by an “accidental headbutt” and because the fight was past the halfway point, it went straight to the scorecards rather than ending in a no contest.
It wasn’t an ideal end for Holm.
“Not being able to finish it is the hardest part,” Holm said in her post-fight interview. “She had a lot of volume, and I was kind of waiting for those later rounds to kind of take over, and I can’t do that when things happen. I didn’t want it to end like that.”
Han was also disappointed on how the fight ended and offered to give Holm an immediate rematch, and the former UFC champion liked the sounds of it.
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“Absolutely,” Holm said when asked about the rematch. “Nobody wants the fight to end like that.”
Holm, 44, is now 1-1 since returning to boxing in 2025. She had defeated Yolanda Vega by unanimous decision in June. Prior to these two boxing bouts, her career in the “Sweet Science” had been put on pause as she transitioned to MMA, where she became a UFC champion and one of the most popular names in MMA.
Holm’s bulk of her boxing career went from 2002 to 2012. During that span, she won major championship belts, including the WBC, WBF and IBA titles. In 2022, Holm was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. She holds an impressive boxing record of 34-2-3.
On the other hand, Han completed her second title defense of her WBA lightweight title. She had picked up the belt with a knockout over Hannah Terlep in February and then defended it in August with a unanimous decision win over Paulina Angel. Han remains undefeated in her boxing career with a record of 12-0.
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This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Ex-UFC champ Holly Holm falls short in WBA title fight
