Holly Holm has her next fight booked — but it won’t be at her usual weight of 135-pounds.
MMA Fighting reported Wednesday that “The Preacher’s Daughter” has her next bout lined up and it will act as a return to the 145-pound featherweight division. Standing in Holm’s way on Oct. 16 will be Brazil’s Norma Dumont. The location for the event along with the headlining bout remains to be determined.
Holm (14-5) last fought at featherweight in December 2017 when challenging for the title against then-champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino. After going the full five rounds, the former bantamweight champion fell short via unanimous decision. The loss made Holm 1-4 since her huge upset victory against Ronda Rousey at the time.
Dumont (6-1), on the other hand, recently picked up the biggest win of her still-young career in May at UFC Vegas 27. Taking on former title challenger and Invicta FC champion, Felicia Spencer, Dumont struck her way to a split decision win that got her back on a winning streak.
“The Imortal’s” UFC debut came after a two-year break when welcomed by Australia’s Megan Anderson. Suffering a first-round knockout loss, Dumont has since expressed her desire to continue fighting at her original home of 135-pounds in the bantamweight division. That being despite her last victory as well as her weight struggles prior when defeating Ashlee Evans-Smith.
Meanwhile, Holly Holm has recovered her momentum to its highest degree since she was an undefeated champion in 2015. A January 2020 rematch with Raquel Pennington saw Holm once again the victor before putting on one of her career-best showcases against Irene Aldana in October.
Holm has since been matched with Julianna Pena at bantamweight but was forced out due to injury. Pena now takes on dual-division queen, Amanda Nunes next weekend at UFC 265.