Holly Holm

Holm grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as the youngest of three children. Her father, Roger Holm, is a Church of Christ preacher, while her mother, Tammy Bredy, is a massage therapist. Her nickname, "The Preacher's Daughter," comes from her father's profession.

Holm married Jeff Kirkpatrick in 2012 after meeting him in college. They separated in July 2019, and Holm filed for divorce.

Holm became interested in combat sports at 16 after taking a cardio-kickboxing class. Her instructor, Mike Winkeljohn, recognized her potential and began training her. In 2001, she won the International Kickboxing Federation USA National Amateur Championship in the women's welterweight division. She finished her amateur kickboxing career with a 6-0-2 record.

Holm made her professional boxing debut in 2002 and became one of the sport's leading female fighters. She won world titles from organizations including the WBA, WBC, IBA, WIBA, IFBA, WBF, and WBAN, capturing championships in three weight classes and defending her titles 18 times. The Ring named her Female Fighter of the Year in consecutive years, 2005 and 2006.

In 2008, Holm became the undisputed welterweight champion by defeating Mary Jo Sanders. She later lost to Anne Sophie Mathis by seventh-round knockout in 2011, then defeated Mathis by unanimous decision in their 2012 rematch to win the IBA, WBF, and WBAN welterweight titles. Holm retired from boxing after defeating Mary McGee by unanimous decision in May 2013, although she returned to professional boxing in 2025.

Holm made her professional MMA debut in 2011 and won her first two bouts by stoppage. She joined Bellator in 2013, then moved to Legacy Fighting Championship, where she won four consecutive fights and captured the inaugural Legacy FC Women's Bantamweight Championship. In her title victory over Juliana Werner, Holm broke her left arm during the first round but won by fifth-round TKO.

Holm signed with the UFC in 2014 and won her first two UFC fights, including a unanimous-decision victory over Marion Reneau. At UFC 193 in Melbourne on November 14, 2015, she challenged the undefeated Ronda Rousey for the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship. Holm controlled the fight with her movement and striking before stopping Rousey in the second round with a head kick and punches.

The victory ended Rousey's 12-fight winning streak and made Holm the first fighter to win a major world title in both professional boxing and MMA. Holm lost the bantamweight title to Miesha Tate in her first defense at UFC 196, when Tate secured a rear-naked choke in the fifth round.

Holm challenged Germaine de Randamie for the inaugural UFC Women's Featherweight Championship at UFC 208 in 2017 but lost by unanimous decision. She returned to the bantamweight division later that year and defeated Bethe Correia by third-round head-kick knockout. Holm subsequently challenged Cris Cyborg for the featherweight title and lost by unanimous decision at UFC 219.

She recorded later UFC victories over Megan Anderson, Raquel Pennington, Irene Aldana, and Yana Santos. Holm also challenged Amanda Nunes for the bantamweight championship in 2019 and lost by first-round technical knockout. Her 2023 bout with Mayra Bueno Silva was overturned to a no contest after Bueno Silva was suspended for a positive pre-fight test.

Holm's final UFC bout was against Kayla Harrison at UFC 300 in April 2024, where she lost by second-round rear-naked choke. She requested her release from the UFC in January 2025.

Holm signed with Most Valuable Promotions in 2025 and returned to boxing against Yolanda Ochoa in Anaheim, California. She won the 10-round bout by unanimous decision. She later challenged Stephanie Han for the WBA lightweight title in January and May 2026, losing the first fight by technical decision after an accidental head clash caused a cut and the rematch by majority decision.

As a southpaw, Holm is known for lateral movement, stiff jabs, counterstrikes, straight left hands, and combinations along the cage. Her kicking game includes body side kicks, low oblique kicks, and left high kicks. She was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2022 and appeared alongside Miesha Tate and Cris Cyborg in the 2016 film Fight Valley.