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If Holly Holm struggled readjusting to the squared circle, she certainly didn't show it. Competing in her first professional boxing match in more than 12 years, the former UFC champion dominated the previously unbeaten Yolanda Guadalupe Vega Ochoa to win a wide unanimous decision Saturday on the Jake Paul vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. undercard at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

In the end, all three judges scored the 10-round bout a shutout for Holm, 100-90.

"I love kicking so much that I just loved MMA for awhile, but then I really started feeling this growing pain to want to box again, so it's been fun to get back and just get those boxing arms going again," Holm said. "I only sparred in actual wrestling shoes two times, I was barefoot the whole camp, I was looking for my groin protector the day I flew out, I was in the bins in my garage. I still train with my same team, my same coaches, I did my whole [camp]. I haven't sparred in a ring in I don't know how long, so this feels cool.

"[WBA women's lightweight champion Stephanie] Han would be great [next], and then also [Katie] Taylor, [Amanda] Serrano [are fighting on July 11]. And I have respect for all three of them — it's nothing but just, 'Hey, let's all chase our dreams.' So we'll just see where we go from here."

Holm (34-2-3, 9 KOs) looked one step ahead from the opening bell, darting inside to pepper Ochoa (10-1, 1 KO) with punches then escaping cleanly and moving out of danger. Her offense came at a consistent rate inside the pocket, and as the rounds wore on, Holm's old ringcraft instincts began to show themselves more and more. Her best rounds came in the seventh and eighth, as she sat down on her punches and smacked Ochoa, 30, with a steady series of flush left hands, refusing to let her settle into a rhythm.

Holm, 43, was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2017. Widely considered one of the greatest female boxers of all time, Holm defended her various titles 18 times across three different divisions from 2002-2013 before retiring from the sweet science and fully committing to a run in MMA.

That decision swiftly paid dividends, as Holm (15-7 MMA) authored one of the biggest upsets in MMA history just two years later when she dethroned Ronda Rousey to capture the UFC women's bantamweight title with a stunning head-kick knockout at UFC 193. Holm ultimately fought 16 times in the Octagon, challenging twice for the UFC women's featherweight belt in 2017 and once more for the bantamweight title in 2019, falling short in all three of those attempts.

Following a submission loss to now-champion Kayla Harrison at UFC 300 in April 2024, Holm mutually parted ways with the MMA leader this past January. She briefly appeared set to continue competing in MMA with the Global Fight League before the promotion canceled its debut event, but told Uncrowned upon her UFC exit that she still considered the boxing chapter of her career to be "unfinished business."

In May, Holm signed with Paul's Most Valuable Promotions entity and expressed her desire to pursue another title in a fourth weight class. 

After her successful return Saturday, step one of that journey is now in the books.

For full coverage of Paul vs. Chavez Jr., including live results, play-by-play and highlights of the entire Jake Paul vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. pay-per-view card, check out Uncrowned's Paul vs. Chavez hub.

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