Holly Holm Laments UFC 300 Defeat: 'I Lost All Focus on the Game Plan'

Things did not go as planned for Holly Holm at UFC 300.

The former bantamweight title holder offered little resistance against Kayla Harrison, as she suffered a second-round submission defeat in a preliminary bout on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. While the former boxing champion figured to have an advantage at range against Harrison, a two-time gold medalist in judo, Holm instead elected to clinch with her opponent. Although “The Preacher’s Daughter” was able to reverse Harrison early, she was largely overmatched against the former  Professional Fighters League lightweight champion.

“Well, none of that went how I had envisioned over the last 10 weeks of this training camp. I have no excuses. I had all the best coaching, the best teammates, the best sparring, all the help I could have even dreamed of asking for,” Holm said in a video post on Instagram.

“I went out there and I lost all focus on the game plan. I did nothing that we trained for in this fight. All the respect to Kayla, she was the better fighter tonight.”

The result was much different the first time Holm squared off against a decorated judoka, when she upset Ronda Rousey to capture the 135-pound belt at UFC 193 in November 2015. While there was some question as to how Harrison would respond to cutting to bantamweight for the first time, the American Top Team product looked physically dominant throughout the contest. Holm has been victorious in just one of her last four Octagon appearances dating back to May 2022, and UFC CEO Dana White stated at Saturday’s post-fight press conference that he “would love” like to see the former champion retire.

However, at this point in time it doesn’t appear that calling it a career is in the cards for the 42-year-old  Jackson-Wink MMA standout.

“I just know I’m capable of more than that,” Holm said. “I’m one of those that likes to self-reflect rather than run from things. I think honesty with yourself can sometimes be the hardest thing. But I’m healthy, my heart hurts, my ego hurts.

“But I just wanted to say thank you to all the fans that have always stood by my side and of course, my team, my coaches, my family, my friends. Much love to everybody, I appreciate you and I’ll be back.”