What’s Next For Holly Holm?

UFC Vegas 55 went down last Saturday night (May 21, 2022) live from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada leaving plenty of fighters feeling the post-fight blues. Among them was Dusko Todovoric, who was knocked out cold by Chidi Njokuani with a nasty standing elbow (see it again here).

Also, Santiago Ponzinibbio, who suffered his second straight defeat, dropping to 1-3 in his last four fights after coming up short against Michel Pereira in a wild brawl (recap here). But which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now a few days removed from the show?

Holly Holm.

Coming into her main event fight against Ketlen Vieira, Holm was in prime position to earn herself yet another title fight with a victory because she is currently ranked No. 2, just behind Amanda Nunes, who will rematch Julianna Pena for the strap at UFC 277 on July 30.

Instead, “The Preacher’s Daughter” ended up on the wrong end of a split-decision loss to Vieira after 25 minutes of close action. While Holm wasn’t happy with the result, she admits she could have a done a bit more to sway the fight her way. Still, there are many who will contest that the decision should have gone the other way regardless, but at the end of the day, the judges have the final word and it was one that didn’t do Holm any favors.

“I thought I won the fight,” Holm said during her post-fight interview. “I gave her Round two, and I feel like I won all the rest of the rounds. I always feel like I can do more and be more perfect, but I thought I won the fight. I don’t feel like it was a question,” she added.

“I feel like I won the fight, so I’ve got to figure out what’s gonna happen now. One step forward or one step back is how that usually goes. It’s what happens.”

With the loss, Holm will probably drop one or two spots in the women’s Bantamweight division, which will make it a tad bit tougher for her prospects of earning another shot at the title. But when we really dive in, since she knocked out Ronda Rousey in 2015, Holm is just 4-6.

With a championship fight out of the picture for a while, Holm will go into her next bout with a bit more pressure of trying to avoid a second straight loss, which would really put a damper on her championship dreams.

As for who she should face next, perhaps a fight against the loser of the Pena vs. Nunes rematch is likely. Holm already has a loss to “Lioness” on her record, losing via first-round technical knockout (TKO) in 2019 (see it again here). That said, the former pro boxer would love nothing more than the chance to get some revenge in order to remain in the Top 5.

A fight against Pena would also be ideal because it would be a fresh matchup that we’ve yet to see. Of course, all of this is assuming that the promotion doesn’t book a third straight fight between Pena and Nunes given the outcome, which has been the norm as of late.

For complete UFC Vegas 55 results and coverage click here.