DETROIT – Early in Holly Holm’s MMA career, she alternated between trips to the cage and boxing ring. Eventually, she tired of the commute.

There is now opportunity to return to her original discipline if the UFC makes good on a plan to promote boxing fights in addition to those in the octagon. But for Holm, a former boxing and UFC champ, she’s already made her choice.

“I am done boxing,” she told reporters ahead of UFC 218 in Detroit, where she appeared as a guest fighter. “I don’t have the passion for it any more, and it hasn’t come back to me. Maybe that’s because I’m still fighting, so I don’t feel like I ever really retired.”

Holm (11-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) is set to face Cris Cyborg (18-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) for the UFC women’s featherweight title at UFC 219, which takes place Dec. 30 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It’s her third shot at gold in the MMA promotion, and undoubtedly the most dangerous.

Holm recently emerged from a three-fight skid that saw her lose the bantamweight title and fall short in a bout for the inaugural featherweight belt. Yet she’s never contemplated the idea of a return to the square circle.

She remembers leaving the locker room after an appearance at Bellator 91 with little motivation for the square circle six weeks later. She walked into her coach’s office after her first day of sparring for the bout and announced her next match would be her last.

“I didn’t know how I would feel when that fight was over, with a win if I’d be excited and want to do it again,” Holm said. “With a loss, I’d probably want to do it again, because I wouldn’t want to end like that. When the fight was over, it was beautiful. It was in my hometown and they brought a beautiful bouquet, and I’m standing there thinking, ‘I can’t wait to take my boxing shoes off.’

“And, that’s it. I keep thinking, am I going to ache for it again? And I don’t. And it’s not because I don’t love boxing. I did, obviously. I did it for 10 years professionally. It’s just my new motivation is this new career I’ve been on.”

With her accolades in both sports, Holm argues she’s the most qualified oppponent to stand across from Cyborg, who’s decimated her opposition in the cage.

“I do feel I’m her toughest opponent to date,” she said. “In an all-around way. There might have been one fighter that had a bit of a ground game. She had one fighter with a clinch game. But really, as far as the caliber of fighter and experience, I do feel like I’m somebody she hasn’t faced before, and that’s why this fight is going to be different.”

For more on UFC 219, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.