Holly Holm is in good spirits despite having to pull out of her UFC 243 rematch with Raquel Pennington that was scheduled for Saturday.
The reason behind Holm’s withdrawal was initially undisclosed, but the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion now has released a statement shedding some insight into what happened and the recovery process ahead of her.
“The ligament that ties my hamstring to the bone, I tore 30 percent of it this last week of training,” Holm said in an Instagram post. “The good news is I don’t need surgery, but it just won’t be good in time to be ready to fight.”
It’s been nearly five years since Holm (12-5 MMA, 5-5 UFC) has withdrawn from a fight because of injury. No fighter wants to go through that process, but she said not being able to fight at UFC 243 is particularly disappointing.
UFC 243 takes place at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, the site of Holm’s stunning title win over Ronda Rousey in November 2015. Holm said she hopes to have the matchup with Pennington rescheduled and will work hard to get back as soon as possible.
“I can’t fight in Australia, (and it’s) something super heavy in my heart and I’m not proud about,” Holm said. “To go through a whole training camp and not be able to make it to the fight, not just for me. This is a training camp for Raquel Pennington, too, my opponent who I have a lot of respect for.”
