El Paso Saturday — The Rematch Half The Room Demanded
Right then — Holly Holm is in fight week and Stephanie Han wants her belt back. Saturday May 30 at the El Paso County Coliseum, WBA women's lightweight title, ten rounds, live on ESPN. The first fight in November ended 96-94 on two cards and 95-95 on the third — the split decision that half the press table hated and the other half nodded along to. The rematch was guaranteed in the contract. Six months later, here we are.
Why The First Fight Was Closer Than Anyone Thought It Would Be
Make no mistake — Han is the better technician. The 25-year-old southpaw outjabbed Holly for the first six rounds, controlled distance, and looked every bit the future champion. Then the championship rounds happened. Holly is 44 but she's still Holly Holm — the head movement is still there, the right hand still snaps, and Han spent rounds seven through ten getting walked down and clipped on the way in. The judges who scored it for Holly weighed the late surge. The judge who scored it even watched the same fight and saw the first half. Both were defensible. Han was furious. Holly went home with the strap.
Holly At 44 — The Career That Refuses To End
Holly Holm shouldn't still be doing this. She retired from MMA in 2024 after the Ronda Rousey years and the Cyborg loss and the title runs that defined women's MMA for a generation. She picked the gloves back up in February 2025 because she was bored and because she could. Eighteen months later she's the WBA champion and she's still beating women twenty years younger. It's nuts. The career arc is unreasonable. If she wins this one cleanly she goes into the conversation with Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano as the third name in the room at 135.
Han's Plan — Don't Wait
Han has said exactly the right thing in the build. Don't wait. Don't bank rounds and assume the judges will see what you saw. Pressure Holly from the opening bell, keep her on the back foot, don't let her settle into the head-roll-and-counter game that wins her the late rounds. Easier said than done — Holly is a slippery 44, not a slow one. But if Han fights like she means to win five points instead of two she walks out with the title. If she defaults to the schooled boxer mode that lost her rounds in November, she's going home empty-handed twice.
Prediction
Going against my heart on this — Han by majority decision, 96-94 on two and even on the third. The southpaw timing was the difference for six rounds last time, and Holly has six months more on the clock. Holly will have her late surge again, Han will be ready for it, and the judges will give the kid the close one in El Paso. Brilliant fight to watch either way. Levels above what women's lightweight was doing five years ago.