Holly Holm is rejecting Dana White's advice

Kalya Harrison defeated Holly Holm via submission in round 2 of their UFC 300 fight and instantly gained the attention of tons of fans. Because of her insane weight cut and impressive record outside the UFC, Harrison was one of the most talked-about fighters on the card, and her dominant debut has made the title race in the women's bantamweight division interesting again.

While Harrison stole the show with her performance at UFC 300, Dana White also had some words for Holm who is 42 and reaching the end of a memorable career. Calling Holm "an absolute legend in all of combat sports," White followed up with a firm claim that he would love to see her retire.

Reflecting on her UFC 300 performance, Holm clarified on her Instagram that she's not considering retiring after the loss to Harrison. She admitted to having the best camp and team possible for the bout and blamed the inability to execute the game plan for the loss.

"Well, none of that went how I had envisioned over the last 10 weeks of this training camp," said Holm. "I have no excuses, I had all the best coaching, the best teammates, the best sparring, all the help, I could have even dreamed of asking for."

Talking about the fight, Holm further added, "I went out there and I lost all focus on the game plan. I did nothing that we trained for in this fight. All the respect to Kayla, she was the better fighter tonight."

Is Holm retiring after UFC 300 loss?

Despite acknowledging that she could've performed much better in the Octagon, Holm needs time to decide what's next for her. She's defeated Ronda Rousey and her two wins over current champ Raquel Pennington have aged like fine wine.

Losing to Harrison at such a stage of her career will take nothing away from Holm's legacy and it is safe to assume that White only wishes to see her retire because she's achieved enough to call it a day. Holm has other plans though, as she said, "I just know I’m capable of more than that. I’m one of those that likes to self-reflect rather than run from things. I think honesty with yourself can sometimes be the hardest thing. But I’m healthy, my heart hurts, my ego hurts."

Lastly, the veteran thanked her fans for their continued support, “But I just wanted to say thank you to all the fans that have always stood by my side and of course, my team, my coaches, my family, my friends. Much love to everybody. I appreciate you and I’ll be back.” The UFC president has time and again openly suggested fighters to hang up their gloves at the right time. Just to name a few, these include Anderson Silva, Tony Ferguson, Chris Weidman, and Chuck Liddell.

Although these fighters were huge draws even after leaving their prime, White showed concern for their health as they continued facing top tier competition and we know pushing yourself past a limit has led to many greats going on massive losing streaks.

While Holm decides what's best for her career, fans can look forward to Harrison's title fight before the end of the year. If she ends up becoming champion, a motivated Amanda Nunes might come back to reclaim her throne as well.