Yesterday, newly-minted UFC bantamweight queen Holly Holm etched her name into the history books by knocking out the world’s most dominant female athlete.
Holm was a nine-to-one underdog with the bookies heading into her championship fight against Ronda Rousey inside Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium.
Undeterred by her dark horse status, the former pro boxer perfectly executed a stick-and-move game plan, evading a rampaging Rousey and catching her with counter punches.
If that weren’t surprising enough, ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ capped off her near-flawless performance with a perfectly timed head kick that shattered Rousey’s aura of invincibility in an instant.
“Everything that we worked on presented itself in the fight,” an emotional Holm said following the win “I haven’t spent this much time in the gym in my life. Everything we worked on happened tonight.”
In a sport that is so often defined by the reins of it’s most dominant athletes, fighters like Georges St. Pierre, Jon Jones, Anderson Silva and Fedor Emelianenko have cemented their legacies as all-time greats by being the alpha dogs of their respective divisions.
Similarly, Rousey was considered absolutely unstoppable before yesterday’s shocking loss. The former two-time Olympic judoka was unbeaten as a mixed martial artist, and taking out opponents without even breaking a sweat.
It’s the utter domination that Rousey had beautifully displayed in the past that makes her loss so shocking, and Holm the most improbable king or queen among the UFC’s nine champions.
In the sport of boxing, the gold standard of in-ring upsets is a no brainer. When 42-to-1 underdog James ‘Buster’ Douglas ended Mike Tyson’s 37 fight and five-year unbeaten streak in 1992 it was easily the most shocking outcome in the history of combat sports.
In mixed martial arts, the answer isn’t as simple, though. In the sport’s short history, there has been a handful of fights that you could argue are worthy of the distinction.
Current UFC champion Fabricio Werdum pleaded his case for the biggest ever upset in 2010 when he handed invincible Russian heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko his first defeat in almost a decade.
Matt Serra threw his name into the hat in 2007 when he clocked the UFC’s most accomplished welterweight Georges St. Pierre with a right hook to end his first run with the 170-pound title.
Holm’s historic win yesterday falls into the same league as these classic matches.
It’s arguably the closest we’ve ever come to MMA’s version of Douglas-Tyson. Both fights were hosted in foreign countries, both featured a seemingly outclassed and overlooked challenger, and both concluded with the champ seeing stars.
Unlike Douglas though, Holm is expected to get a chance to prove her title-capturing knockout was no fluke.
While discussing future plans, UFC president Dana White confirmed that an immediate rematch between Rousey and Holm “makes a lot of sense” during the post-fight press conference at UFC 193.
The second ever UFC bantamweight queen also chimed in on the subject, agreeing that another match with Rousey is the logical next step.
“I think a rematch makes sense for sure,” Holm said. “I’ve been on the losing side of a fight (in boxing), and I wanted a rematch. I wanted to avenge my loss. With a champion like Ronda, who’s gone out of her way and gone above and beyond to do great things, absolutely, she deserves a rematch.”
nickoldschool
Guest
Ok, I think I better understand what you mean G and I agree with you 'in theory'. Yes, in theory violence should have no gender and it should be equally bad to watch 2 men or 2 women fight. Same with domestic violence, a woman slapping a man should be as bad as a man slapping a woman. Problem is that's only theory and men are usually different to women. In my teens I got slapped once by my then 55-60kgs gf. Should the 6'1" 90kgs bloke I am have retaliated the same way? If we follow your theory yes, not if we follow our social rules at least mine. So yes I agree that I have less problems accepting men boxing or fighting in MMA than women. Why? Probably because of my culture, the social and family values I grew up with etc. And yes if we push the reasoning the way you have done I am being unfair and perhaps biased and should either go 'no violent sports at all' or ' fine for both'. Thing is its imo unfortunately not that simple and I do sometimes feel torn between my social values and my desire to see women and men do the exact same things. And the women around me are the same (I should probably be with a MMA female fighter...). And for the record I still support women MMA (but still not feel great about it).
AZ_RBB
Guest
48 hours after the event, I'm still in complete shock at what I witnessed.
G
Guest
I'm not sure that I did miss your point. Your point appears to be that you have no problem watching a man fight and be KO'ed but you have a problem with seeing a woman KO'ed. My point is you should either be willing to accept people being KO'ed or not. Gender shouldn't be an issue. Your closing point was its not normal and we have to accept that. With reference to watching a woman being knocked out. Rousey knockout was no more brutal than other knockouts. What appears to have changed your opinion however is the fact that its a woman. "Reminds of men who beat women up and say ‘but it’s part of emancipation, we treat them as we treat men, that’s gender equality". This clearly shows that the point has been missed entirely but I will try again. Its not right to beat anyone up. The gender doesn't/ shouldn't make a difference. You have a set of beliefs/rules and ideals and they appear to be apportioned differently based on gender. Its a popular belief system. For example many are disgusted with Mayweathers domestic violence against women and rightly so. Is anyone bothered that Rousey admitted to domestic violence and beat her partner up (referenced in her autobiography). Not really. Why? Because most people seem to have a set of rules for one gender and not the other.
nickoldschool
Guest
Haha I think you completely missed my point G. Which shows all of us MMA fans aren't the same. So the women around me who don't like or don't get women MMA are submissive, stay in the kitchen and only play 'women sports'? Mate I think you should get out more and start meeting women (not only MMA fighters, men and women). I have no problem with women in MMA and as I said I have been watching it since the start but it doesn't mean we shouldn't listen to people who are against it which is what I did. Putting the right for women 'not to be in the kitchen' with their right to get beaten up is a first and I have to say that made me smile. Reminds of men who beat women up and say 'but it's part of emancipation, we treat them as we treat men, that's gender equality'. Yeah right.
G
Guest
Its this kind of drivel that makes the majority of anti MMA arguments so tiresome. For starters UFC is not a sport its an organisation. One does not go and play NBA or NRL we play basketball and Rugby League respectively. Secondly as defined a sport is an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment. By the definition provided above MMA is a sport. Granted it may not be a sport you chose to watch or enjoy and I can respect that. Having said that there are rules that Govern this sport. If a fighter can no longer "intelligently" defend themselves the fight is over. A fighter can chose to end the fight at any point in time for any reason. They are not forced to compete or accept any more punishment than they are comfortable with. A doctor can rule the contest over at any point if he/she feels a fighters welfare is at risk. I enjoy this sport Farmer. What pray tell does that say of my mentality?
Farmer
Guest
If you think UFC is sport, then you need to have a good hard look at yourself in the mirror. It says a lot about society and the mentality of UFC fans if this is regarded as good entertainment and sport. Beating someone into submission even when they are on the ground and defenceless is not sport. As suggested in an earlier post, might as well let them fight to the death - how good would that be. Sure to draw a huge audience at the venue and online. Cheers
G
Guest
Better to have them in kitchen yeah or playing a womens sport? A person got "beaten up". Why does it matter if it was a woman or a man? If you shared these thoughts with a female fighter do you think they would find them refreshing and progressive? I find the duplicity so strange.
nickoldschool
Guest
Thanks for replying Justin. What you wrote is exactly how I felt till Sunday. But seeing Ronda getting brutally ko'ed made me think. When I saw Ronda's chubby cheeks hit the canvas, 'wake up', sheepish and lost in the harms of her bf 2 minutes later I didn't see the highly trained professional that she is but just a woman who had just been punched to a pulp. She looked fragile, much younger than her age and beautiful and seeing this scene did make me feel uncomfortable I have to say. I know they both were consenting adults but it doesn't change what happened: a woman got beaten up and we loved it. I will still watch MMA but I think Sunday made me think differently and so did the conversations I had with my gf or other female friends who think it's not 'normal' for a man to enjoy that. And perhaps they are right, it is not normal and we have to accept that.
Justin Faux
Expert
Damien covered it pretty nicely. If you do wish to get a more balanced view, I recommend you watch a little more than one fight Lamby. It's okay if you don't like it because the sport is clearly not for everybody, but seeing a few more fights might give you a better understanding of why the sport isn't a complete violent sideshow spectacle.
Justin Faux
Expert
Some real good analysis there, Stumpy. I agree that doing this fight immediately (UFC 200 next July is the rumoured return date) will give a drastically different result. Rousey is capable of winning the fight. But she needs to make a lot of changes (coaching staff, game planning) before then.
Justin Faux
Expert
Good breakdown Iao, I pointed this out on my preview for the event. Rousey is a very limited striker, but her non-stop-aggression style had served her very well. Holm was just the fighter to exploit that chink in her armour. You also raise a good point with switching up her game plan. Rousey's head coach, Edmond Tarverdyan, gave her absolutely no technical advice on how to beat Holm between round and just told her she did great after getting punched in the face for five-straight minutes.
Justin Faux
Expert
Kreese, at this stage mixed martial arts is a governed and commissioned sport that has been conducted on every continent in the world. The sport won't be stopped with "collective will". Birdy, I can confirm there were a lot of soccer moms with their children inside Etihad Stadium on Sunday. Nick, I don't think there's a problem with enjoying what went down at UFC 193. If that same thing happened on the street and you cheered, then there's an issue. But here we had two highly trained professionals fighting for money, prizes and championship gold. The threat of a knockout is a part of the sport and a large reason why some paid thousands to watch UFC 193 on a dingy plastic chair. ChrisB, this sport isn't for everyone. I can understand how two half-naked men or women fighting in a cage wouldn't be your cup of tea.
Justin Faux
Expert
Jerry is correct, the reason Holly Holm was such a humungous underdog was because she had not performed to that level in the UFC. In her UFC debut, she struggled against Rocky Pennington and in her second appearance she still looked pretty underwhelming against a P.E teacher who trains at nights.
Justin Faux
Expert
That's a good point James, it wasn't a whole lot different. When Lesnar returned to pro wrestling it was a pretty big hit but they had Georges St. Pierre and Anderson Silva so it didn't make a big difference to their bottom line. Similarly, this time they have Conor McGregor and a returning Jon Jones.
Brad
Guest
Chris - It has been shown that contact football actually has a higher record of brain injuries so I guess you could say that they are focussing on the right ones first.
Brad
Guest
Yeah because 10 years of striker vs grappler history has shown us nothing has it.
ChrisB
Guest
Anyone who watches or engages with this disgusting spectacle should be ashamed of themselves quite frankly. In a world where we are increasingly concerned over footballers suffering lifelong damage from concussion, how can you tolerate a spectacle where a fallen participant is being pummelled on the ground. And it's par for the course for this thing.
Damien
Roar Guru
Half a Dozen Sucker Punches ?.. Please watch the video. Holly threw 3 punches after the head kick and only 2 landed,..but I get your point and disagree with it. In the head trauma space nothing compares to boxing/kick boxing In MMA a flash KO and the fight is basically stopped because the follow up punches end it right there. In boxing a fighter can be knocked down multiple times, ref gives them the 8 count then they bravely continue and they receive more punishment. About 10 people die each year due to injuries caused by Boxing. http://bit.ly/1WVthM9 MMA is a young sport so since 93' - '13 about 20 years there has been 8 deaths. http://bit.ly/1H4lk05 As the ole' saying goes "Boxing is hard on the head, MMA is hard on the joints"
Lamby
Roar Rookie
I would vote for banning UFC after watching that match. In a boxing ring the punch from Holm would have got a standing 8 count or stopped the fight. I think it would have stopped the fight as Rousey looked out of it. BUT instead of checking to see if Rousey had the capacity for 'safely' continue, Holm was allowed to kick Rousey in the head and knocking her out. That should have stopped the fight. But again Holm was allowed to administer a half a dozen SUCKER PUNCHES, punches that put people in jail, punches to someone who cannot defend themselves. Rousey will have permanent damage from those hits/kicks.
Stumpy
Roar Rookie
I follow alot of combat sports and have for over 35 years. I watch tonnes of training videos looking for strengths and weakness in the practices and the attitude of the fighters and those that surround them. Holm Holm was bought by the UFC to fight Rousey because she was different. Over a decade of title fight experience and with a trainer the has understood the training gap between Boxing , Kickboxing and MMA. Holm had many of the same advantages as her stable mate Jon Jone, but with one massive difference she has KO power in her hands 17 KO finishes. It's not by accident Holm's game plan was JJ 101 without the eye pokes. Everyone was wowed by the kick it was the kick that finished it but it was the threat of the kill that didn't come that won Holm the fight and left Rousey eating left hands. They have been training for this moment for years knowing Rousey would be standing in front of them sooner or later. It was a plan perfectly executed by the right type of fighter with a fighter that had absolute faith in her trainer and method. Rousey Wow was this ever coming she has been facing basically fighters from the same place wrestling/gapplers come strikers and her style and gameplan eats them period. Her training and attitude towards training left her with ever widening gaps in her ability and the tactics she could and couldn't employ. In a video she stated she no longer does any strength conditioning she spars does hand drills, boxing orientated and grapples. When was the last time you saw her throw a kick or knee that wasn't in a clinch. There are massive blind spots in her training that leave her lacking strength endurance and technique. They all came together and interacted with Holm/Winklejohns fight plan and application to create what most didn't see coming. My wife looked at me like i was a madman when I told her I thought Holm would win and after 3 minutes of the fight half the people in our house watching the PPv acknowledged I was probably right. The rest had their heads in their hands shaking there heads at what they were seeing. The end even came the way I thought it might not because I'm a fortune teller but because the signs were there, in the last UFC embedded I watched it showed Holm goofing off and throwing a combination the combination finished with left hand a fainted the left kick it was smooth as honey and like second nature to her. She had drilled that combination a thousand times for this her moment if she was good enough to used it and land it. I don't think a quick turn around will see a different result, I don't think a fight in a years time will see a different result, Rousey may want it but the gap between what she is doing now and where she needs to get is very very wide. What this means for Womens MMA who knows.