Holly Holm Loses Another Controversial Decision To Stephanie Han At MVPW-03

Holly Holm lost, again. And once again, a lot of people think she shouldn't have. The former UFC bantamweight champion dropped a majority decision to Stephanie Han (13-0) at MVPW-03 in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday night in their WBA lightweight championship rematch. Two judges scored it 96-94 for Han. The third had it 95-95. Holm was convinced she did enough to win.

"I feel like the decision should've gone to me," Holm said after the fight. She wasn't just saying that cause she was butt hurt over her loss, she genuinely believes that she should have won that fight.

Two Fights. Two Controversies

This is the second time these two have fought and the second time the result left people upset. Their first meeting back in January in Puerto Rico ended because of an accidental headbutt that opened a cut on Holm. The fight went to the scorecards early and Han won by technical decision. Fans called it a robbery and Holm wanted the rematch immediately.

She got it Saturday. Different city but same result. And honestly, a lot of the same frustration. Holm (34-4-3 boxing) made real adjustments for the rematch. She circled to the right all night to take away Han's right hand, which had been the big weapon in the first fight. It worked too. Han's output dropped. But Han has a sharp left jab that Holm didn't fully account for, and the judges apparently gave Han credit for that.

The crowd in El Paso (Han's hometown by the way) was packed, sold out completely. And the hometown fighter got the nod.

That Katie Taylor Dream Is Fading

Here's where it really hurts. Earlier this week Holm told Ariel Helwani that her dream fight was Katie Taylor. She wanted that matchup more than anything. But she also admitted it depended on beating Han first and well, she didn't. For the second time now.

At this point, Holm is 1-2 since coming back to boxing last June after a 12-year absence. She's 44 years old. Taylor is the unified super lightweight champion with a 25-1 record and back-to-back wins over Amanda Serrano. That fight was always a long shot, and it's basically gone now. Holm said she's not done with boxing, though. Retirement wasn't on her mind after the loss. But the path forward just got a lot harder to see.

Serrano Made History on the Same Card

Buried under all the Holm controversy was Amanda Serrano making history in the co-main event. She stopped Cheyenne Hanson in round two to tie Christy Martin's all-time record for most knockouts in women's boxing history with 32. Serrano has said that breaking that record is the last goal of her career before she retires.

She went out there and tied a record that's stood for years and it barely got talked about because everyone was too busy arguing about the Holm scorecards.

Where Does Holm Go From Here

The Rousey rematch talk from earlier this week feels even more irrelevant now. Rousey already said she'd "clean Holm's clock" but also made it clear she's retired for good. Taylor is likely off the table after two losses to Han. And a third fight with Han doesn't make much sense since Han has won both.

Holm has been one of the most accomplished combat sports athletes of her generation. Her career speaks for itself. But at 44, coming off back-to-back losses in a sport she left for over a decade, the question isn't whether she can still fight. It's whether anyone left will give her the fights she actually wants.

"I'm not done," Holm said after the decision. "I feel like I won that fight."