Holly Holm Retires from Boxing, Sets Sights on Full-Time MMA Career

Effective May 11, immediately following her bout with “Merciless” Mary McGee, Holm will be resigning from the sport of boxing -- where she is currently ranked No. 1 in the world -- and transitioning full-time to the MMA.

Holm, who is scheduled to be inducted into the New Mexico Boxing Hall of Fame this summer, felt the need to choose between the two sports in which she competed concurrently for the last two years.

“A hard decision, but I need to keep that spark and passion, and MMA is where it’s at for me now,” Holm said Tuesday.

A longtime student of coach Mike Winkeljohn, Holm currently trains at Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA in Albuquerque, N.M., and has studied not only boxing throughout the last 11 years, but various forms of martial arts -- her first being kickboxing, which she tried just for fun. The 31-year-old has also trained in grappling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and muay Thai at the world-famous facility.

Her foray into the sport of mixed martial arts, beginning with her MMA debut in March 2011, has been notably successful, with a record of 3-0, all of her wins by stoppage and her most recent fight for Bellator MMA. Although she doesn’t have another MMA bout lined up yet, Holm has said that there have been several offers. Following her February bout, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said that he was impressed by Holm and would like to see her fight again for the promotion.