Former decorated boxer Holly Holm's debut for the Ultimate Fighting Champion ship (UFC0) has been put on hold because of a neck injury. The former light welterweight and welterweight champion was supposed to tackle Raquel Pennington (4-4) in her mixed martial arts debut Dec. 6 but she suffered the injury in practice, pulling her out of the main event of the pay-per-view UFC 181 at Mandalay Events Centre in Las Vegas.

The injury of the 32-year-old fighter was first reported by Portuguese mixed martial arts website, MMA Byneko, which first said that a serious undisclosed injury will keep her out of the fight. The undefeated Holm, who has already won her first seven professional fights, was being touted as the next big thing and a possible challenger to reigning women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. During an interview with USA Today Sports, Rousey welcomed the addition of the decorated boxer and noted that her addition was good for the sport.

"I think that she's not just great for a title fight, she's great for the whole division and giving the women some real legitimacy," Rousey said. "I couldn't be happier about her joining the company."

Holm, for her part, was ecstatic of her debut for the UFC after signing the contract last July. She also expressed her willingness to spar with Rousey if ever the opportunity presents itself. The 32-year-old boxer is coming off an impressive showing in the Legacy FC where she captured the bantamweight championship by prevailing over Juliana Werner by knockout last April. Dana White and his camp had prolonged discussions over bringing her over to the outfit in July, agreeing to a minimum of five fights in the Octagon.

The original plan was for her to make the debut in October or November but she suffered a broken arm during the championship fight in April with Legacy FC. This latest setback has not yet cleared the timetable of her return and the UFC has not yet announced the replacement opponent for Pennington as of press time.