Holly Holm Out Until 2019 After Recent Surgery

Holly Holm

Holly Holm won’t be getting back in the Octagon until early 2019.

“The Preacher’s Daughter” is currently the No. 1-ranked bantamweight in the UFC. She’s fresh off a unanimous decision win over debuting featherweight Megan Anderson at UFC 225 this past June. Currently, the 135-pound division is lacking serious contenders at this time.

So much so, in fact, that current division champion Amanda Nunes will jump up to 145 pounds and challenge Cris Cyborg for her featherweight title. That fight will go down at UFC 232 this December.

Holm’s win over Anderson probably isn’t enough to garner another shot at the title, so the former 135-pound champion opted to get knee surgery to repair her meniscus. ESPN reports that Holm won’t be back until the first quarter of 2019. It was also suggested that Holm is hoping for a fight with Nunes when she’s healthy again. Holm shocked the mixed martial arts (MMA) world back in 2015.

READ MORE:  Max Holloway explains decision to book BMF showdown at UFC 300 with Justin Gaethje: 'This fight is crazy'

She became the first woman to ever defeat Ronda Rousey inside the Octagon. Holm is the second-ever UFC women’s bantamweight champion but lost the strap in her first career title defense to Miesha Tate. After a three-fight losing streak against Tate, Valentina Shevchenko, and Germaine de Randamie, Holm bounced back with a huge knockout win over Bethe Correia.

In December of last year, she challenged Cris Cyborg for the UFC women’s featherweight championship. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to best the Brazilian champion, losing via unanimous decision.

The following summer Holm defeated Anderson in Chicago. Only time will tell if the UFC deems the victory enough to award “The Preacher’s Daughter” another UFC title opportunity.