Holly Holm Through the Years

Holly Rene Holm was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on October 17, 1981. She was the youngest of three children.

Holly grew up with her father, a Church of Christ pastor. Her mother Tammy is a massage therapist. Holm took part in gymnastics, swimming, diving, and football as a child.

Before she graduated from Manzano High School in 2000, her parents divorced. She then spent a year studying at the University of New Mexico.

When Holm was 16 years old, her career in boxing and kickboxing started with aerobics courses. Mike Winkeljohn was Holm’s instructor for cardio kickboxing. He noticed her potential and started training her.

In the International Rules Adult Women’s Welterweight Division at the International Kickboxing Federation USA National Amateur Championship Tournament, Holm earned the championship title in September 2001. It was held in Kansas City, Missouri. She competed in two matches in the competition, winning both of them. She has an amateur kickboxing record for 6-0-2.

Holmes has won a number of welterweight boxing titles. She is recognised as one of the finest female welterweights in the history of the sport. Additionally, she received the title of Fighter of the Year from Ring Magazine twice in a row. They were in 2005 and 2006.

In March 2011, Holm made her mixed martial arts debut against Christina Domke. The event was planned by boxing promoter Leny Fresquez. Holm won the bout through TKO in the second round.

 

Holm competed in her first Bellator MMA match against Katie Merrill. The event took place at at Bellator 91 in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, in February 2013. Holm ended up winning the match by way of a TKO in the second round.

After her match in May 2013, Holm said she would stop boxing so she could focus only on her MMA career. In her last boxing match, Holm went on to win against Mary McGee by a unanimous decision.

Holm and Allanna Jones squared off in July 2013 at Legacy Fighting Championship 21. In the second round, she was knocked out with a head kick.

Holm competed against Juliana Werner in April 2014 for the first-ever Legacy FC Women’s Bantamweight Championship. She ended up winning the match via TKO in the first round.

The media reported that Holm signed a multi-bout contract with the UFC on July 10, 2014. She made her debut against Raquel Pennington in UFC 184. Holm ended up winning the match via split decision.

 

Holly Holm competed against Ronda Rousey for the bantamweight title in the main event of UFC 193. Despite being a huge underdog in the betting, Holm used her striking to dominate most of the match and resisted all of Rousey’s takedowns. Holm used a high kick to knock Rousey out in the second round, interrupting her three-year winning streak.

Holly Holm also received her first $100,000 ‘Performance of the Night’ and ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus prizes. By capturing the title, she made history by being the first person to hold both a boxing and an MMA title.

In March 2016 at UFC 196, Holm was defeated by Miesha Tate in the fifth round of her first title defence. Tate won against Holm in the fifth round with a rear-naked choke after four rounds of back-and-forth combat.

At UFC on Fox 20, Holm took against Valentina Shevchenko in July 2016. She was defeated by a unanimous decision in the match.

In February 2017, Holm competed against Germaine de Randamie at UFC 208 for the first UFC Women’s Featherweight Championship. She ended up losing the match via unanimous decision.

In the main event of UFC 219 in December 2017, Holm competed against Cris Cyborg for the UFC Featherweight Championship. She lost the match via unanimous decision.

In June 2018, Holm competed against Megan Anderson at UFC 225. She ended up winning the match via unanimous decision.

In July 2019 at UFC 239, Holm competed against Amanda Nunes for the Women’s Bantamweight Championship. After being knocked down by a head kick and attacked with subsequent punches in the first round, Holm lost the bout through technical knockout.

In May 2022, Holm and Ketlen Vieira squared off at UFC Fight Night 206. She was defeated in the match by a controversial split decision.

In March 2023, Holm and Yana Santos squared off on UFC on ESPN 43. She ended up winning the bout via unanimous decision.

Holy Holm will take on Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC Fight Night 224 on July 15, 2023. She will be taking the place of injured Miesha Tate, whom Bueno Silva was supposed to compete against at UFC on ESPN 46.

Holm is one of several boxers that were captured in photographs by photographer Delilah Montoya for Women Boxers: The New Warriors. She also co-starred with Miesha Tate and Cris Cyborg in the 2016 drama ‘Fight Valley’.

 

 

Holm has tight bonds with her siblings and parents. Her father has supported her in her corner throughout her boxing matches for years, always being present at the bouts.

Holly Holm married Jeff Kirkpatrick in 2012, whom she met while attending college. It was made public at the start of 2020 that the pair had split up in July 2019.