Former UFC champion Holly Holm shocked in bid to make boxing history after nasty headbutt

Ex-UFC women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm was upset on her return to the ring on Saturday night.

Holm secured her first boxing win in 12 years on the undercard of Jake Paul vs Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in June 2025 and made her boxing comeback in Puerto Rico this weekend.

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The 44-year-old was favoured by many fans heading into her second professional bout since leaving the sport in 2013 against WBA lightweight champion Stephanie Han.

Holm hoped to make history in the sport by becoming the first International Boxing Hall of Famer to win a world title after being inducted.

‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ had even talked up a potential mouthwatering clash with Irish great Katie Taylor in the build-up to her co-main event, which Taylor’s promoter Eddie Hearn was open to.

However, disaster struck for the MMA great in round seven when she clashed heads with her fellow American pugilist, and the bout came to an immediate halt at one minute and 44 seconds into the round.

Why did Holm vs Han go straight to scorecards?

Foul caused by 'accidental heabutt'

As Holm’s Puerto Rico clash with Han had already gone past the midway point, it went straight to the judges’ scorecards rather than being ruled a no-contest.

The bout was scheduled for 10 three-minute rounds rather than the standard two-minute rounds used in women’s boxing, as seen across Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions (MVP).

Han, who had punished Holm with several straight rights, was subsequently awarded a technical decision, with the scores reading 68-65, 69-64 and 68-65.

Holm was unsurprisingly left disappointed at not being able to go all 10 rounds, but she was happy to find out that an immediate path back to Han’s world title was offered to her.

Holm in line for immediate rematch with Han

“Not being able to finish [the fight] is the hardest part,” Holm said after her defeat.

“[Han] had a lot of volume, and I was kind of waiting for those later rounds to kind of take over.

“I can’t do that when things happen. I didn’t want it to end like that.”

Han, too, was uneasy with how the fight ended and told Holm she could have a rematch when both women were raring to go again.

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“Absolutely,” Holm responded, speaking on the rematch.

“Nobody wants the fight to end like that.”

Holm’s co-main event with Han acted as the chief support act to Amanda Serrano vs Reina Tellez at Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan.

Unified featherweight champion Serrano entered the bout having played out an epic trilogy with Ireland’s Taylor between 2022 and 2025.

She outboxed Tellez to score a unanimous decision win in the main event and retain her WBA and WBO featherweight titles.

Her promoter, Paul, is still recovering from a double broken jaw he sustained when boxing Anthony Joshua last month.

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Paul was ringside for the event alongside MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian.