The next chapter in the Ronda Rousey reign of domination will take place Saturday night in Melbourne, Australia, as she faces Holly Holm in the main event of UFC 193.
Rousey‘s career dominance has been well-documented, with 11 of her 12 victories in the promotion coming in the first round of action. But she’ll face a test Saturday she hasn’t faced before, going up against one of the most decorated fighters in the history of women’s mixed martial arts.
Let’s take a look at the odds and predictions for the main event.
UFC 193 Main Event Odds
Odds courtesy of Odds Shark.
Rousey vs. Holm
This one is going to be good.
Rousey has constantly gone up against some of the most feared women in the bantamweight division and overcome them without much of an issue. You may have heard this before, but this time it’s true: Rousey has never faced anyone quite like her next opponent.
That’s because the 34-year-old Holm is as decorated as any fighter in the history of women’s MMA. Out of her whopping 38 fights, 33 have ended in victory, with only two losses. She’s lost just one time in the last 11 years.
Most of those victories have come as a boxer, which presents a new sort of challenge to Rousey and goes up against undoubtedly her only weakness—standing and striking. But when it comes to mixed martial arts, she can’t come close to matching what Rousey has done.
Take a look at the numbers Rousey has put up in the promotion, per ESPN Stats & Info:
It’s pretty spectacular that her career in the Octagon has not even spanned 30 minutes, while Holm has fought for that long in a number of fights. That just goes to show how dominant Rousey has been.
With that said, UFC President Dana White sees this as her toughest challenge to date, per CBS Sports’ Lyle Fitzsimmons.
“This is the biggest challenge Ronda has faced,” White said. “When you look at her combat sports experience, it’s not even close. She’s had three times the number of fights.”
Even though Holm is a perfect 9-0 in mixed martial arts, she hasn’t shown the level of dominance in submission that will even worry Rousey. All of her MMA fights have spanned more than one round, which Rousey can only say about one of her fights.
When it boils down to it, Rousey is impossible to stop once the fight gets on the ground. Holm may be able to delay the inevitable for a few minutes due to her striking prowess but not long enough to get out of the first round unscathed.
Prediction: Rousey wins via first-round submission
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