Former boxing World Champion Holly Holm has been forced to withdraw from her scheduled UFC debut against Raquel Pennington. The match was slated for December 6th at the UFC 181 event in Las Vegas, Nevada. Holm, who has a (7-0) record in MMA on top of a top notch (33-2-3) overall career mark as a boxer suffered a neck injury, and with the event less than a month away, the 33 year old was left with little choice.
The UFC has become so competitive that fighters often do not reveal the nature of an injury, so this is just speculation regarding the injury. But a “neck’ injury is troubling, especially if her time off extends itself. If it is a serious neck injury, we may never see Holly Holm in the UFC, so here is to hoping she is fine and has her match re-scheduled.
The underlying reason for the UFC signing Holm ties in with their search to find women who can compete with Ronda Rousey. Holm’s credentials in women’s boxing include world championships in three weight classes, no small feat. If you judge her by her loss to Anne Sophie Mathis, you are totally missing the point about her as an athlete. Yes, her KO at the hands of Mathis was brutal, but Holm made no excuses. She had been dabbling in MMA already, and she stopped that completely for the rematch with Mathis. Coming in focused, she defeated Mathis when they met again, and she fought twice more in boxing, captured another world title before leaving the ring for MMA.
Her experience and respect for the two sports, and recognition that she cannot do both, make her a unique athlete to watch. The fact is, should she ever attain the UFC Female Bantamweight title, she will be the first athlete to hold a UFC title and a world title in boxing.
Raquel Pennington is a scrappy little fighter who has a (4-4) overall record, but has a lot more fights termed ‘amateur’. Holm’s level of competition has been low, especially compared to Pennington, who has faced some top notch names at Invicta. If Holm is going to be available in the immediate time frame, it is best to keep Pennington as the opponent. If a replacement for Pennington to fight is announced, it may be a while before we see Holm.
Check out the Holm-Mathis KO.
