Holm takes Rousey’s belt with violent KO finish
Holly Holm shocked the world with a second-round KO win over Ronda Rousey to win the women’s 135-pound belt at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.
Published on Tuesday, 11/17/15, at 12:31 a.m. Eastern.
November 14, 2015: “The night when Holly Holm beat Ronda Rousey’s ass.”
11/14/15 is a night no fan of combat sports will ever forget. If it wasn’t on the same level of shock as Buster Douglas over Mike Tyson, then it was real damn close.
Rousey, the only woman to ever lay claim to the UFC’s bantamweight strap, was destroyed by Holm in the biggest upset in the history of the promotion. Holm hooked up her backers with a +800 return (paid $800 on $100 wagers), but she was available at a much more generous price earlier in the week.
Holm dominated the fight from the start, peppering Rousey with beautiful lead lefts that had the champ’s face red less than a minute into the fight.
Rousey continued to push the pace, but Holm did a masterful job of maintaining proper distance and using her superior length to constantly land crisp strikes. Holm repeatedly circled in and out, accurately landing whenever she felt like it.
A few minutes into the fight, Rousey was able to get into the clinch and score one takedown but as she tried for her patented armbar, Holm easily escaped. More than three minutes into the opening round, Rousey was bleeding for the first time in her career.
In the final minute of the round, Holm actually landed a takedown, only to quickly jump back to her feet. As the stanza came to a close, Rousey was clearly gassed and bleeding profusely from her lip and her nose.
Nevertheless, she didn’t change a thing about her strategy in Round 2. She stayed on the attack even though she was getting dominated in the stand-up game. Rousey was so unraveled that when she missed with a wild right-handed haymaker, she clumsily lost her balance and fell into the cage.
As she charged back at Holm, the former boxing champion caught her with another left that staggered Rousey. Holm twisted the champ around and unloaded with a headkick that knocked Rousey down. Holm pounced and added two more punches for good measure before referee Herb Dean intervened to halt the carnage. The first punch left Rousey out cold, the second left her dazed for several minutes.
Rousey was taken to the hospital after the fight where she spent the night. She took a bunch of stitches to her lip, but her nose and jaw weren’t broken.
There have been unconfirmed reports that Rousey might have had plastic surgery on her lip.
She made her first public statement Sunday night via her Instagram account. “I just wanted to thank everyone for the love and support. I appreciate the concerns about my health, but I’m fine. As I had mentioned before, I’m going to take a little bit of time, but I’ll be back.”
Rousey is scheduled to star in the upcoming film “Roadhouse,” so she’s isn’t likely to return to the Octagon until next summer. All indications are that she’ll get an immediate rematch.
According to Adam Hill of CoveringtheCage.com, Golden Nugget sportsbook director Tony Miller opened Rousey as a -400 favorite vs. Holm (+320) early Monday afternoon. Miller told Hill a big bet from a sharp player on Holm for the potential rematch forced him to adjust Rousey to -300.
5Dimes opened Rousey as a -190 ‘chalk’ vs. Holm early Sunday afternoon. By early Tuesday morning, Rousey was down to a -140 favorite, leaving the new champion Holm as a +120 underdog. Several other offshores had posted odds and the price on Rousey was (by far) most inexpensive at 5Dimes.
Nothing will be official for months, but most think the rematch will take place at the new Las Vegas Arena on July 9 for the UFC 200 main event.
Rousey lost her cool at the weigh-ins and refused to touch gloves with Holm in the center of the cage as Dean gave instructions just before the fight. Those actions caused many to ridicule Rousey in defeat, including the likes of Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump, singer Lady Gaga, 50 Cent and rival fighter Miesha Tate. However, many such as Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather, Nick Diaz and Anderson Silva have offered words of support.
Rousey returned from Australia to LAX with her boyfriend Travis Browne and she went to great lengths to hide the damage to her face. Here’s footage from TMZ Sports.
In a heavyweight clash on the pay-per-view card, Mark Hunt destroyed Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva with a first-round knockout.
You can follow the line moves for a potential rematch below…
