While the boxing world decried the ending, labeling it a “robbery,” for Holly Holm, the signs of a setback, when Stephanie Han defeated her by a close decision, appeared much earlier, during a pre-fight meeting with the referee.

“Rules meeting in the locker room was the most bizarre meeting I’ve ever had,” she told Ariel Helwani in an interview. “He made me sit down… He made me sit down face to face this close. And has me in this whole, the whole rule meeting.”

The former champion’s latest revelation follows the controversial conclusion of her rematch with Han at Jake Paul‘s MVP-ESPN card in El Paso, Texas. While Han won the main event via majority decision, the outcome sharply divided opinions, with many criticizing the judges for awarding Han a hometown decision.

“He said, ‘Any questions?'” Holm continued. “And I said, ‘No, sir, I’m good to go.’ And then he’s like, ‘Well, you know, there’s no elbows in this sport.’ ‘Oh, I was like, ‘Yeah.’ He’s like, ‘Well, you come from MMA.’ I said, ‘I know, but I boxed before.’ I said, ‘Trust me, I’m good.’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah, but it’s in here. It’s in here. And he’s like getting in my face about it. And I was like, ‘I’m not going to throw any elbows.’ ‘ Like I’m like, ‘I’m, it’s boxing. ‘I get it.'”

That way, Holly Holm tried to stay polite, assuring the referee that she would follow boxing rules. Still, she began wondering whether the referee already had bias against her. The meeting also left her reflecting on what she felt was a broader perception surrounding her MMA background.

While Holly Holm is a three-division boxing champion with a Hall of Fame recognition, she is widely recognized for her pioneering work in the UFC, where she competed in some of the biggest fights in the promotion’s history.

So once the meeting ended, Holm felt the tension had passed. But as the fight with Han progressed, those frustrations resurfaced in a different way.

When the fight atmosphere had already shifted against Holly Holm

“And then as soon as the headbutt happened in the first fight, he looks right at me and he goes, ‘I told you to watch your head,'” she said, referring to the 2-round clash of heads that opened a cut above Han’s eye.

“Oh, I’m like, ‘You do realize the front of her head hit the side of my head. So if there is some, like, and it’s not like she wants to headbutt either. It’s not; I’m not. This is nothing against her as far as that. Nobody wants that to happen. But if you’re going to, you know, after that it was like everybody was labeling it ‘Holly Holm accidental headbutt.’ How is that? It’s an accidental headbutt, sure, but how is it mine when the front of her head is on my head?”

Her frustration only grew as she felt that the referee constantly warned and scrutinized her while overlooking similar actions from Han.

Unlike their first meeting that was stopped in the 7th round after an accidental clash of heads resulting in Han winning by a technical unanimous decision, the rematch was allowed to continue. However, the result again went in Han’s favor.

Holm felt she had done more than enough to earn a win. She dictated the pace and threw three more punches and was never seriously hurt. While she stopped short of blaming the referee, Holm continued to feel that her MMA background may have caused the officials to judge her differently from the start.

That also explains why, despite the setback and the wave of support she received afterward, Holm remains optimistic about her fighting future and still believes major opportunities await her.

“I still want to call out the best because I feel I won the fight. So, I want to fight Katie Taylor. I still want the big fight. Hopefully I can still make that happen,” she said at the post-fight presser.

That enthusiasm likely extends to the octagon as well, where Holm blasted long-time rival Ronda Rousey, who also made a comeback to professional fighting last month, for avoiding a rematch.