Ronda Rousey Deals With Devastation

Holly Holm joins Matt Serra and Chris Weidman in upsetting the greatest champions in MMA history, as she knocked out Ronda Rousey at UFC 193.

The hype train for Ronda Rousey was at full speed going into UFC 193 — and Holly Holm knocked it off the tracks.

After being shoved in the face with a closed fist by Holm at the weigh-ins, Rousey did not touch gloves with “The Preacher’s Daughter” to begin the fight.

The opening round saw Rousey unable to close the distance with Holm as her attempts to get in the clinch were met with straight punches from the challenger.

While Rousey did not come out as aggressively as she has in prior fights, the most noticeable difference was in how stiff the champion looked on the feet compared to Holm.

The former boxing champion capitalized early on “Rowdy” not being able to adjust to her striking from the southpaw stance.

The challenger connected with straight counter punches that stifled Rousey and made the champion look sluggish as the round wore on.

In the moments when Rousey had Holm against the cage, the challenger worked her way out of the position and created space.

When the fight did go to the ground, Holm was able to get back to her feet without being threatened by submission attempts.

At the end of the round, Holm was also able to score a take-down which visibly affected the morale of the champion.

Going into the second round, the body language of the undefeated champion was visibly different.

Early in the second round, Holm slipped a takedown and Rousey ended up tumbling to the mat against the cage.

Holm connected with more straight punches shortly after that dropped the champion.

In the final frame, a staggered Rousey rose to her feet with her hands down and her back to the challenger.

Holm capitalized with a left head-kick as the champion turned to her and Rousey was unconscious before hitting the canvas.

“The Preacher’s Daughter” followed with clinical shots before referee Herb Dean stopped the fight.

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The official stoppage came at 59 seconds of the second round.

After the fight, Holm said, “…Everything that we worked on presented itself in the fight.

Every kind type of grab that she tried to get, the clinch on the cage…I have not spent this much time in a gym before any fight in my life.”

She continued, “Everything we worked on happened tonight, and that [the angle of the head-kick] actually happened to be something we worked on. ”

Holm was at a loss for words on the UFC post-fight show when speaking about her coach Mike Winklejohn who discovered her as a teenager at 16 years old.

With her victory, Holm scored the biggest betting upset in UFC history as a +800 underdog.

The final statistics showed that she outstruck Rousey 38-21 throughout the fight.

Holm connected on 72% of her strikes compared to the champions 30%.

She is also the first fighter to ever hold world titles in both boxing and MMA.

Rousey did not make any post-fight comments and went to straight to the hospital without speaking to the media.

Going into the fight, Rousey’s air of invincibility was apparent going into the match.

Her only competition was expected be from Cris “Cyborg” from Invicta FC.

“The Preacher’s Daughter” ignored such statements and has shaken the MMA landscape.

The future for Holly Holm as the new champion is still reliant on Rousey.

As was the case with Chris Weidman and Anderson Silva, an immediate rematch is the most obvious and lucrative fight for the promotion.

The now former-champion has shown that she is okay competing frequently in the calendar year.

Assuming she is healthy enough for a quick turn around, it is possible that the UFC puts the two together for a rematch early in 2016.

That said, the UFC seems set on having Rousey headline their biggest show ever next summer at UFC 200.

Whether she wins or loses, a fight in the interim puts those plans in jeopardy.

The UFC could well elect not to risk it, even if it does go against the wishes of their favorite employee.

That would mean that Holm-Rousey 2 would not happen until July next year.

Bottom Line: Holly Holm scored the biggest upset in UFC history.

Rousey had stated before the fight that she intended to “disappear” following Saturday and a multitude of external factors had surfaced prior to this fight.

The biggest was the legal battle involving her coach Edmond Tarverdyan who filed for bankruptcy claiming he had no income.

Another note is that he states that he can not recall the last time he filed a tax return.

The case would bring in Rousey as it would have to be explained how the coach of the highest paid fighter in MMA is not being compensated for his services.

Coach Tarverdyan also recently became the target of scorn from Rousey’s mother who expressed, among other things, her dislike for him personally and that he was only relevant because of her daughter.

If somehow Holm’s next fight is not an immediate rematch then the most likely opponent would be number one contender Miesha Tate.

Tate was promised a title-shot earlier this year before the promotion elected to go with Holm and is on a four fight win-streak since losing to Rousey in 2013.

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