AS VEGAS, NEVADA - JANUARY 17: Bantamweight fighter Holly Holm poses on the scale during a ceremonial weigh-in for UFC 246 at Park Theater at Park MGM on January 17, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Holm will face Raquel Pennington at UFC 246 on January 18 in Las Vegas. (Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images)
Holly Holm is the leading contender to fight Katie Taylor in her next boxing bout
Riding high on the momentum from her victory against Amanda Serrano in arguably the biggest women’s boxing fight in history, Katie Taylor is all set to make her much-anticipated homecoming return in Croke Park this year. MMA’s beloved preacher’s daughter Holly Holm has emerged as the front-runner to face Katie Taylor.
According to a report from the Irish Independent Holm, the only fighter to have won high-level titles in both boxing and mixed martial arts, has emerged as the favourite to take on Katie Taylor in a rumoured bout at the 82,300 capacity Croke Park later this year after a reported breakdown in negotiations with Amanda Serrano’s camp.
A multiple-time world champion in boxing, who defended her titles 18 times in three weight classes, and a two-time Ring magazine fighter of the year Holly Holm returned to action this past weekend. However, she lost owing to a controversial decision, a fight that many believe she actually won.
One of the biggest superstars in women’s boxing, Katie Taylor beat Amanda Serrano in a high level, back-and-forth fight at Madison Square Garden. UFC President Dana White has openly declared that he’s not a fan of crossover fights, however, if there’s anyone that he can take the plunge with and bank on the credentials, it’s Holly Holms.
Holm controlled the majority of the fight barring the second round, in which she was caught in a deep rear-naked choke. The American survived that and continued to dominate pretty much the entire fight, confident that she had done enough to win on the scorecard.
In the last round. Vieira attempted an early head kick, and followed it up with a spinning elbow and good punches inside when Holm tried to tie her up. Overhand left by Holm caught the Brazilian off guard. Holm continued to attack from the outside with leg kicks and sidekicks, attempting to close distance with clinch. Vieira on the other hand looked a bit rusty in the last round, and lacked sting in her attacks like before. Eventually, Holly hauled Vieira to the fence and connected with a right hand on the exit. She hauled Vieira again to the fence again with a minute to go and landed a Two-piece this time on the exit. Vieira won the fight by split decision, although many fighters and MMA experts scored the fight the other way around.
Holm proposed the idea of open scoring in the UFC. Open scoring offers fighters and fans the opportunity to see how the judges score fights in real-time. At the end of every round, the judges’ scorecards are displayed for fans to watch.
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