Report: Holm recovered from thumb injury, planning to fight in 2016
Holly Holm's recovery from thumb surgery has gone according to plan and she's looking to get back in the Octagon soon, according to a tweet from ESPN's Brett Okamoto.
The former women's bantamweight champion shattered her thumb in her most recent fight against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC on FOX 20 on July 23, a fight she would lose by unanimous decision. Holm underwent surgery to address the injury in August and was expected to be restricted from using her left hand for six weeks.
Now that she's healthy, the No. 4-ranked Holm could provide a significant amount of star power to any the UFC's remaining 2016 shows. UFC 206, scheduled for Dec. 10 in Toronto, does not have any fights booked on the card yet, and Holm could fit comfortably into a main or co-main-event slot.
More intriguing is the UFC's year-end UFC 207 card on Dec. 30 in Las Vegas. Ronda Rousey is aiming to return from knee surgery around that time, and she'd love to get a chance to avenge her loss to Holm should the UFC decide not to throw Rousey into a title match in her first bout back.
Holm handed Rousey the first loss of her professional career last November with an unforgettable head-kick knockout that also won her a UFC title.