Former boxer Holly Holm inks UFC contract

MANILA, Philippines – After a series of back-and-forth negotiations in the past few months, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has been able to seal an exclusive, multi-fight deal with three-division boxing world champion Holly Holm.

UFC president Dana White announced the former boxer’s signing on Friday, July 11 (PH Time) on microblogging site Twitter, concluding several months of negotiations that started in earnest and then took a negative turn before cooler heads prevailed. 

Welcome to the UFC @_HOLLYHOLM pic.twitter.com/BxNVy8SYTR

— Dana White (@danawhite) July 10, 2014

However, the organization’s head honcho did not reveal the other details and terms of Holm’s UFC contract.

Holm, regarded as one of the best female fighters at 135 pounds since her transition to mixed martial arts (MMA) in March 2011, sports a perfect record of 7-0.

The 5-foot-8 native of Albuquerque, New Mexico has won 6 of her last 7 outings via knockout and is coming off a title-winning performance in April by stopping Juliana Werner to claim the inaugural Legacy FC women’s bantamweight belt.

She trains out of the Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA gym in her hometown and has been seen trading punches and kicks with UFC light heavyweight king Jon Jones, Carlos Condit and Donald Cerrone.

At 32 years old, “The Preacher’s Daughter” has long been considered a tough test for Ronda Rousey’s bantamweight trinket.

As the world’s premier MMA promotion is quickly running out of viable options to square off with Rousey, the UFC may have gotten her a stiff competition in Holm.

Prior to her MMA stint, Holm was already an unstoppable force to be reckoned with during her boxing days, amassing 33-2-3 slate and capturing 18 titles in three separate weight classes.

Holm is expected to have her first Octagon appearance in late October or November, but she will not likely receive a shot for Rousey’s gold-plated strap in her UFC debut.

In addition, an opponent has not been named yet as Holm is still dealing with a broken arm that she injured in her last bout. – Rappler.com