In her first mixed-martial-arts fight since retiring from boxing, Holly “The Preacher’s Daughter” Holm registered a devastating knockout in her Legacy Fight Championship fight debut this past Friday night at Arena Theater in Houston, Texas.
Holm (4-0, 4 KOs) is on her way to becoming even greater force in MMA than she was in boxing, in which she captured 14 world titles in three different weight classes. She stopped Allana “Hands of Stone” Jones (2-3) with a highlight reel-like, KO Kick of the Year candidate at 2:22 of the second round in Legacy FC 21.
“Lenny (Fresquez, Holm’s promoter) told me she was a special person “an ecstatic Mike Maynard (Legacy FC president) said after the fight. “She really lived up to all the hype. It is great to have her in Legacy’s stable. We are very excited to work with Holly and the team of Jackson/Winklejohn. No doubt this girl will also be the biggest name in MMA also. It is not only a pleasure to work with her, but am really impressed by what a great person she is as well as her entire team.”
Fighting out of Team Jackson-Winkeljohn, Holm overcame blurry vision in the opening round, the result of getting unintentionally poked in the eye. She started out moving and striking, then effectively mixed in front and head kicks. Mid-way through the second round, Holm unloaded a picture-perfect left kick to Jones’ head, immediately ending the fight as the referee rushed in before Holm did additional damage to her semi-conscious opponent.
Holm was a consummate boxer, recording only nine knockouts 38 professional boxing matches (33-2-3), however, in four MMA fights to date she has stopped all four opponents, three via kicks, not punches.
She is competing in the 135-pound weight class, the only women’s division in the UFC, dominated right now by Ronda Rousey.
“Holly’s very skilled and working on her wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu,” Holm’s manager/trainer Mike Winkeljohn said. “We’re fine-tuning her skills on the way to the top. The ultimate goal is to win the highest MMA title out there, whether that’s by beating Ronda Rousey or somebody else at that time, to be the best in the world. It’s Holly’s time to showcase her MMA skills.”
Her longtime fight promoter, Lenny Fresquez, plans to feature Holm on a show November 2 at Route 66 Casino Hotel in Albuquerque.
“This was one of the most exiting nights of my career working with Holly and Mike,” Fresquez added. “I always knew she was going to be a force to be reckoned with in MMA but not so fast. We have never waited around for anybody and now everybody understands why. Holly has so many options. We just ran out of people in boxing; no threats for her. Now, she has plenty of challenges.”
