Why Holly Holm deleted Instagram video after UFC champ Cris Cyborg insinuated PED use

Holly Holm felt it was necessary to take a public stance when Cris Cyborg questioned her integrity as a clean athlete ahead of their upcoming UFC 219 title fight. Holm, though, didn’t feel the need to make that stance known for long.Back in October, UFC featherweight champion Cyborg (19-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) put out a string of messages on social media regarding the number of times Holm (11-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) has been drug tested compared to herself. Cyborg also mentioned how several fighters from Jackson-Wink MMA, Holm’s training camp, have failed drug tests.

In uncharacteristic fashion, “The Preacher’s Daughter” posted an Instagram message firing back at Cyborg and declaring the Brazilian can “spend her time complaining and making false accusations and false memes.” Holm deleted the video shortly thereafter, though, which seemed like a strange decision.
However, she explained why in a recent interview with MMAjunkie.
“I put it up for one day,” Holm said. “I don’t like my social media to be drama. There’s a lot more to my life than just drama about one fight. … As soon as that came out, everyone was like, ‘You’ve got to say this, and you’ve got to say that.’ I said, ‘Honestly, I’m just going to make a response and stop people from snowballing into an issue that’s not even an issue.’ One day is all that needed, and then it’s done.”
The Cyborg-Holm title fight headlines UFC 219, which takes place Dec. 30 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and it airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.Holm said she was perplexed by Cyborg’s accusations, largely because she has a squeaky-clean history when it comes to drug testing not only in MMA, but in her lengthy boxing career, as well. Cyborg can’t make the same claim afterfailing a drug test in 2011 and being flagged by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for a potential violation in late 2016. The latter, however, was dismissed, and Cyborg was cleared of wrongdoing.As of Dec. 14, Holm had been tested 14 times by USADA in 2017 alone, according to the organization’s website. Cyborg, meanwhile, trailed with 13 tests. Holm, the former UFC women’s bantamweight champ, has never had an issue, and she said she doesn’t understand why Cyborg suggested otherwise.
“I don’t know where that actually came from,” Holm said. “I was one of the most tested (fighters) last year, and this year I believe I’ve still been tested more. I’m just never the one that needs the sticker to put on my social media and let everybody know. I got tested; it’s the name of the game. It’s never something I’ve been worried about, because I’ve always been a clean athlete no matter what sport I’ve competed in. I’ve never used a performance-enhancing drug in my life.
“I never say anything, but when it turned into that, I responded. Because it’s one thing I’m very sure of and one thing I’m very confident in and one thing I’m very truthful about that I’m a clean athlete.”
In the fast-paced era of social media, accusations can spread quickly, Holm said.
“It was out of left field,” she said. “A lot of times when things like that happen, I just want to correct them real quick before people on the Internet people on the Internet, they see one thing and think it’s truth. That’s why I wanted to squash it when it first happened, but on the other side of that, whenever people do things, every action is because maybe a thought or a reaction or something that’s going on with them. Who knows why that came out on her side. There might be emotions on her side for why that even comes out. I let that be their issue.”For more on UFC 219, visit the UFC Rumors section of the site.