“THE BIGGEST UPSET in MMA history” was UFC commentator Joe Rogan’s assessment after Holly Holm shocked the world in the main event at UFC 193.
Holm, a 9/1 underdog with some bookmakers, gave Ronda Rousey (12-1) her first taste of defeat as an MMA fighter, in the process maintaining her own undefeated record (10-0) as she became the new UFC women’s bantamweight champion.
The 34-year-old former world champion boxer delivered a stunning head-kick less than a minute into the second round, which paved the way for referee Herb Dean to call a halt to the fight after 0:59 of the frame.
“I’m trying to take it in but it’s crazy,” said Holm in the immediate aftermath of her win over Rousey, a bronze medallist in judo at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
“I had so much love and support. I just felt like ‘how can I not do this?’ I had the best coaching, from stand-up to grappling, to wrestling.
“Everything that we worked on presented itself in the fight. I haven’t spent this much time in the gym in my life. Everything we worked on happened tonight.”
While the fight represented a first MMA loss for Ronda Rousey, it was also just her second time being taken out of the first round. Her previous three wins had come in a combined time of just 64 seconds.
There was tension between Rousey and Holm at the weigh-ins and that continued right until the fight began, with Rousey refusing to touch gloves with her opponent before Herb Dean got the contest underway.
Rousey took the centre of the octagon and had her opponent backing up, but it soon became clear that Holm’s vastly superior striking had the potential to cause problems for the defending champion, as she landed regularly with her left hand.
There was concern for Holm at a couple of points during the opening round, first when the pair clinched up and later again after Rousey scored a takedown. However, in spite of the threat of Rousey’s signature armbar, Holm was able to escape on both occasions.
Holm looked more and more comfortable as the fight progressed, as she continued to expose the holes in Rousey’s improving, yet sloppy and under-developed, stand-up game. For the first time in her MMA career, Ronda Rousey had lost a round.
Rousey came out firing for the second round but Holm continued to find avenues to land her shots via her opponent’s permeable defence. After rocking Rousey with a straight left, the Albuquerque native followed up with a spectacular left head-kick which sent the Californian down.
Holm added some ground-and-pound to wrap up a win that will live long in the memory of those among the record UFC attendance of 56,214. The event also broke the UFC’s previous record of 1.6 million for pay-per-view buys, according to president Dana White, although figures for UFC 193 have not been disclosed.
Holm and Rousey were awarded a ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus of $50,000 each, with Holm picking up an additional $50,000 for a ‘Performance of the Night’.
“This fight was a lot for me,” Holm said. “I can’t tell you how many times I cried in the gym.”
