Holly Holm is one of the few fighters to win major world title in boxing and mixed martial arts.
After being regarded as one of the best female boxers in the world, Holm jumped over to MMA a few years ago and shocked the entire combat world when she knocked out Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 to capture he company's bantamweight title.
One can imagine that Holm was a very interested spectator in last Saturday's huge fight, when UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor crossed over to the sport of boxing and faced five division champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
McGregor was unable to keep up the pace he started in the early round, fading down the stretch and getting stopped in the tenth round.
In the opinion of Holm, referee Robert Byrd stopped the fight too quickly when Mayweather had pinned an exhausted McGregor against the ropes and was throwing punches to finish him off.
McGregor complained after the fight that Byrd should have allowed him to at least get knocked down before waving off the fight. McGregor claims he was never hurt in that round, but admits he was very, very tired.
“I thought though the ref jumped in a little early, yeah,” Holm told The MMA Hour. “It’s not like he was out on his feet or about to get knocked out, or something like that. He wasn’t going in there to counter or anything. It was definitely an early stoppage for sure.”
While there were some who were critical of the contest, Holm was happy that it took place.
“I’m kind of glad it came together like that because I’ve always been a fan of both, obviously,” Holm said. “It’s like, there’s that battle between boxing and MMA and I’m like, no, boxers are into boxing because that’s what they’re passionate about. And MMA fighters are into MMA because that’s what they’re passionate about. That’s the only thing. I don’t know why there’s always this kind of fight about it.”
“How can you not respect it?. They both put everything on the line. McGregor walked in and said ‘I believe I can do this going against a boxer, a fighter that’s never been beat.’ He’s got the record now. That’s a big thing to take on. ... For Mayweather, anything can happen in a fight, one punch can end it, he’s putting a lot on the line. 50-0 or to lose to an MMA fighter who never boxed before. That’s a lot to put on the line.”
ADD COMMENT VIEW COMMENTS (44)