If Holly Holm defeats 'Cyborg' at UFC 219, she'll own two of the most significant upsets in MMA history
There is little argument that Holly Holm is among the small handful of the greatest women’s combat sports athletes of all time. Holm was 33-2-3 as a boxer and won titles at super lightweight, welterweight and super welterweight.
She, of course, scored the most famous upset in UFC history in 2015 when she knocked out the previously unbeaten Ronda Rousey to claim the women’s bantamweight championship.
She’ll dramatically improve her position on Saturday if she claims the women’s featherweight title from champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino, which will serve as the main event of UFC 219 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The win over Rousey at UFC 193 raised Holm’s MMA record to 10-0, but then she inexplicably lost three in a row. She was submitted by Miesha Tate in the final seconds of her first title defense at UFC 196, then dropped close decisions to Valentina Shevchenko and Germaine de Randamie.
Holm returned to the win column in June with a head-kick knockout of Bethe Correia in Singapore, setting up the title fight with Justino.
Of Holm’s 11 wins in MMA, seven have been by kicks. Four of those, including the title-winning finish of Rousey, have been head kicks.
I discuss that and other things in this video looking at the Cyborg-Holm title fight.
