Manager explains why Holly Holm is not fighting at UFC 235

Thursday at the UFC 235 Press Conference, UFC President Dana White casually mentioned that the Holly Holm vs. Aspen Ladd matchup had been removed from the card.

Turns out, there’s a good reason why.

Holm’s manager Lenny Fresquez spoke to ESPN and explained why his client is no longer fighting on Mar. 2

“We’re in negotiations on a contract extension right now,” Fresquez explained. “She’s very disappointed this fight is not happening, but she understands this is a business. We’re in the middle of those negotiations right now, and everybody thought it would be best to get through that.”

Holly Holm (12-4) is coming off a unanimous decision win over Megan Anderson in the featherweight division back at UFC 225. That fight took place in June 2018 and was her only fight on the calendar last year.

“The Preacher’s Daughter” has competed in both the bantamweight and featherweight divisions over her last few fights. The last time she tasted victory in the 135-pound division was a TKO win over Bethe Correia at UFC Fight Night 111 in June 2017. Holm took to Instagram to share her disappointment the Ladd fight isn’t happening (it appears the post has since been removed)

”My heart and my mind, my soul, everything was focused for March 2. I’m really bummed out about it. I didn’t have any idea this was going to be canceled and I don’t really know what’s going to happen. But I’m going to keep training and I’m going to show you guys my hard work is going to pay off, whatever the next fight might be.”

Ladd as you can imagine was not happy about the fight being off.

UFC 235 takes place Mar. 2 and T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. The main event features Jon Jones defending his light heavyweight title against Anthony Smith.

Who do you want to see Holly Holm fight next?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 2/1/2019.