After her exit from UFC, Holly Holm returned to boxing last year after 12-year hiatus and resumed her career with a stellar victory over Yolanda Vega in June 2025. However, the former UFC bantamweight champion then suffered two consecutive disappointing defeats to Stephanie Han with the second one coming last week in El Paso, Texas. For Holm, the losses against Han were monumental as she missed her chance to capture the WBA lightweight belt twice. However, the 44-year-old combat sports legend revealed that her fight camp for her first bout with Han in Puerto Rico, which took place in January of this year was highly compromised because of an unfortunate car crash.

In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Holm revealed that she was involved in a car crash in Puerto Rico eight days before the first fight which left her with a torn pectoral muscle.

“Well, the thing is, I don’t ever like to say anything like that, cause then people are gonna act like I’m making an excuse,” Holm said. “And for me, I chose that I’m still gonna fight. So that’s where I stand; that means I’m ready to fight. But yes, eight days before the fight in Puerto Rico, I got, and it was my fault, but I got T-boned going like 55-60 right on my driver’s side and like tore apart my pec eight days before I fought.

“And I just felt there was enough adrenaline, and we did let them know, because it was a day before I left Puerto Rico. And I had to kinda like see how it’s gonna feel through the week to really know how it’d be on fight day. So, I went down there and I… washing my hair, that hurt. Couldn’t like push up, just, you know, to get out of the bed or anything like that; it hurt pretty bad. During the open workouts, I was gritting my teeth, just shadow boxing.”

While Holly Holm would’ve refrained from competing a high-stakes bout with an existing injury, things were different this time around. She had earlier withdrawn from a fight with Raquel Pennington in 2019 at UFC 243 due to a hamstring injury. However, against Stephanie Han, given that it was a world title fight and she was almost there, Holm likely decided to go ahead with the bout, regardless of the pain she felt. This was also her first title bout since her fight with Amanda Nunes at UFC 239. But according to her, that crash wasn’t the most frustrating part about that fight.

In their January 3 clash, Stephanie Han suffered a deep cut following an accidental headbutt that forced the referee to intervene. Looking at the severity of the cut on Han’s forehead, the official waved off the fight after 7 rounds and it went to the scorecards. The judges awarded Han the decision since the Texan was ahead on the scorecards and the bout had already passed the designated halfway point.

For Holm, that result ended up being even more frustrating than dealing with the injury she suffered in the car crash.

“It hurt,” Holm added. “I just knew I had enough adrenaline to fight. It wasn’t actually stopping me from being able to throw punches. But I don’t think that affected the fight. But two parts about that is, it made it a stressful fight week, like every day, like, ‘How’s this gonna be?’ That’s one thing, and then the other thing, that’s why I was even more extra frustrated the fight being called over a cut.”

Following the disappointing result of the first fight, Holly Holm and Stephanie Han engaged in a rematch on last week. However, the 44-year-old suffered another defeat in a close majority decision. Once again, Holm was heartbroken by the result. She firmly believes she had won the second fight. Regardless, the outcome remained unchanged.

Even in her mid-forties, Holly Holm has continued to compete in high-stakes fights, which is an achievement in itself regardless of the results. But now, she is slowly starting to think about saying goodbye to the sport.

Holly Holm floats the idea of retirement following boxing losses

After an illustrious MMA and boxing career, Holly Holm believes the time is coming near for her to lay down the gloves. However, the former UFC bantamweight champion sees herself competing at least through this year before making that ultimate decision. In that case, Holm wants to participate in the big fights.

“If I’m being really honest, I just want big fights,” she told Ariel Helwani. “All of them are big fights for a title. But I’m definitely like, within the year, and I’m done. That’s where I’m at. I definitely want it to be fights that people want to see. I want it to be something big like that, and that’s where I’m at, whether it be MMA or boxing. I don’t want to be one of those people who’s like, ‘It’s my retirement fight.'”

Though Holm didn’t outright admit it, she could be hinting at a showdown against her longtime rival Ronda Rousey. Both have been going back and forth recently, creating intrigue around a potential rematch after Holm knocked out Rousey with a head kick at UFC 193 in 2015. Also, both former UFC champions are part of Most Valuable Promotions, which raises the chances of it happening.  

Regardless of the wins and losses, Holly Holm remains one of the most revered combat sports superstars to have graced both the Octagon and the boxing ring.