Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Nobody gave Holly Holm much of a chance. She came into the fight as much as a 20-to-1 underdog. And then, she took less than six minutes to shock the world as she landed a second-round head kick knockout over Ronda Rousey to cap off UFC 193.
Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Nobody gave Holly Holm much of a chance. She came into the fight as much as a 20-to-1 underdog. And then, she took less than six minutes to shock the world as she landed a second-round head kick knockout over Ronda Rousey to cap off UFC 193.
Ronda Rousey, you familiar with her? The armbars, the hip tosses, the Olympic medals and all that stuff? Well, if you’re one of the three people on this planet who is not familiar with the women’s bantamweight champion by now, the UFC would like to offer you a 90-second recap of her life via this new promo for UFC 193.
Starring none other than the champ’s little sister, Julia De Mars, as an 11-year-old, stuffed bear-shredding Ronda and her mother, AnnMaria, as well, her mother, “Revolution” would easily the most poignant UFC ad of all time if it wasn’t for that Nick Diaz-Office Space mashup some genius fanboy created for UFC 143. And hey, the promo even manages to squeeze in a few frames of Rousey’s UFC 193 opponent, Holly Holm! Good for you, Holly!
UFC 193: The Legend of Ronda Rousey premieres on November 15, 2015 at the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
Ronda Rousey, you familiar with her? The armbars, the hip tosses, the Olympic medals and all that stuff? Well, if you’re one of the three people on this planet who is not familiar with the women’s bantamweight champion by now, the UFC would like to offer you a 90-second recap of her life via this new promo for UFC 193.
Starring none other than the champ’s little sister, Julia De Mars, as an 11-year-old, stuffed bear-shredding Ronda and her mother, AnnMaria, as well, her mother, “Revolution” would easily the most poignant UFC ad of all time if it wasn’t for that Nick Diaz-Office Space mashup some genius fanboy created for UFC 143. And hey, the promo even manages to squeeze in a few frames of Rousey’s UFC 193 opponent, Holly Holm! Good for you, Holly!
UFC 193: The Legend of Ronda Rousey premieres on November 15, 2015 at the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
For a while there, it seemed as if we were all but destined to see Ronda Rousey take on her arch-rival not named Cyborg for a third time following their respective wins over Bethe Correia and Jessica Eye, but today brings word of a fight many of us probably didn’t see coming.
During an appearance on Good Morning America earlier today, Rousey herself made the announcement that her next title defense won’t be against Miesha Tate, nor will it be against Cyborg, but against former pro boxer/kickboxer turned undefeated MMA fighter Holly Holm, at UFC 195. Or to put it another way: The lamb has passed through the gate. It has come to the killing floor. Its blind eyes see nothing of the horrors to come.
For a while there, it seemed as if we were all but destined to see Ronda Rousey take on her arch-rival not named Cyborg for a third time following their respective wins over Bethe Correia and Jessica Eye, but today brings word of a fight many of us probably didn’t see coming.
During an appearance on Good Morning America earlier today, Rousey herself made the announcement that her next title defense won’t be against Miesha Tate, nor will it be against Cyborg, but against former pro boxer/kickboxer turned undefeated MMA fighter Holly Holm, at UFC 195. Or to put it another way: The lamb has passed through the gate. It has come to the killing floor. Its blind eyes see nothing of the horrors to come.
Perhaps the reason most of us didn’t foresee Holm as the next logical title challenger/victim is due to the pair of performances she has put on thus far in the UFC, which can at best be described as “underwhelming.” Holm may have built up a reputation as “the best striker in women’s MMA” and will surely be lauded as “the best striker Rousey has ever faced” (see previously: Correia, B.), but she hasn’t exactly been annihilating her (somewhat unremarkable opposition) in the UFC like she was on the regional circuit.
In her promotional debut, Holm cruised to a unanimous decision over TUF 18 alum Raquel Pennington at UFC 184, and likewise wasn’t able to put away a Marion Reneau that was offering her absolutely nothing offensively at Fight Night 71. Now, she faces a champion with a 100% finishing rate. I’m probably in the minority here, but I see this thing lasting roughly a minute before the inevitable inevitably happens. But at least it’ll be a new face laying face down when all is said and done, right guys?
Then again, I suppose if Rousey decides to charge in wildly like she did against Correia, there’s a chance that Holm could make her pay for it. Time will tell, I guess (and that time will be 1:08 of round 1).
UFC 195 goes down on at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 2nd, 2016.
While Fight Night 71 may have been a bit of a comedown from the high that last weekend’s cards provided, with 9 of the 12 scheduled fights going the distance, it managed to deliver yet another “Knockout of the Year”-worthy finish in it’s main event, which was probably the craziest sub-one and a half minute fight since Cerrone vs. Guillard.
Both Frank Mir and Todd Duffee came out throwin’ them bungalows early, but it was evident from the start that Mir was enjoying a significant speed advantage over his much younger opponent. Duffee was quite literally lunging into his punches, leaving himself exposed for big counters, and found one just over a minute into the fight in the form of a VICIOUS left hand. Though Mir would declare that “his emotions got the best of him” in his post-fight interview, there’s no arguing with the results.
Mir is now 2-0 since dropping 4 straight between 2012 and 2014. Andrei Arlovski has won three straight in the UFC. Cro Cop just beat the sh*t out of Gabe Gonzaga. Fedor is returning, and oh yeah, Fabricio Werdum is the champ. I think it’s safe to declare 2015 as the year of, as one redditor put it, “The Old School Heavyweight.”
While Fight Night 71 may have been a bit of a comedown from the high that last weekend’s cards provided, with 9 of the 12 scheduled fights going the distance, it managed to deliver yet another “Knockout of the Year”-worthy finish in it’s main event, which was probably the craziest sub-one and a half minute fight since Cerrone vs. Guillard.
Both Frank Mir and Todd Duffee came out throwin’ them bungalows early, but it was evident from the start that Mir was enjoying a significant speed advantage over his much younger opponent. Duffee was quite literally lunging into his punches, leaving himself exposed for big counters, and found one just over a minute into the fight in the form of a VICIOUS left hand. Though Mir would declare that “his emotions got the best of him” in his post-fight interview, there’s no arguing with the results.
Mir is now 2-0 since dropping 4 straight between 2012 and 2014. Andrei Arlovski has won three straight in the UFC. Cro Cop just beat the sh*t out of Gabe Gonzaga. Fedor is returning, and oh yeah, Fabricio Werdum is the champ. We think it’s safe to declare 2015 as the year of, as one redditor put it, “The Old School Heavyweight.”
In the co-main event of the evening, Tony “El Cucuy” Fergusondid work on Josh Thom-son, son. The TUF 13 winner, who has now won six straight fights with 4 finishes, sliced and diced Thomson with elbows throughout the three round affair and nearly finished the former Strikeforce champ with a couple different submissions to boot. It’s a testament to Thomson’s grittiness that he was able to make it the distance, but this might have been the fight that signals his descent from the top of the pack.
Holly Holm is not ready for Ronda Rousey, Nation, and I say that with all due respect. Matched up against Marion Reneau in her sophomore outing, Holm turned in yet another underwhelming performance, chock full of funky kicks that found mostly air and a lot of yelling. Holm is truly the Maria Sharapova of kicking and punching, but against an opponent who offered literally nooffense outside of a couple guard pulls, she still couldn’t pull the trigger. I know the UFC wants to push this Holm vs. Rousey narrative like it’s the next big thing in WMMA, but the winner of Jessica Eye vs. Miesha Tate is a much more interesting matchup, which is saying something, because one of those people has already been beaten by Rousey twice.
The full list of Fight Night 71 results are below.
Main Card
-Frank Mir def. Todd Duffee via first-round KO (1:13)
-Tony Ferguson def. Josh Thomson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
-Holly Holm def. Marion Reneau via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 29-28)
-Manny Gamburyan def. Scott Jorgensen via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
-Kevin Lee def. James Moontasri via submission (rear-naked choke) (R1, 2:56)
-Alan Jouban def. Matt Dwyer via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
Preliminary Card
-Sam Sicilia def. Yaotzin Meza via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2)
-Jessica Andrade (#13) def. Sarah Moras via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
-Rani Yahya def. Masanori Kanehara via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
-Sean Strickland def. Igor Araujo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
-Kevin Casey def. Ildemar Alcantara via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
-Lyman Good def. Andrew Craig via second-round TKO (3:37)
As Michael Bisping might say, Cat Zingano didn’t last as long as a virgin on prom night in her long-awaited title bid against Ronda Rousey last weekend, succumbing to an armbar in just 14 seconds of their UFC 184 main event tilt. “Alpha” let her emotions get the best of her, both in the fight itself and in her post-fight interview, and it cost her big time. My heart breaks for the poor woman.
Aside from it’s lightning-quick main event, UFC 184 also saw Josh Koscheck and Mark Munoz get choked within an inch of their lives, Holly Holm pick apart Raquel Pennington (sort of), and Alan Jouban announce his arrival to the welterweight division with a vicious standing hellbow. Join us after the jump for all the highlights from UFC 184, most of which totally aren’t in the form of illegal gifs. (*removes sunglasses*) (*winks*)
(via UFC on FOX)
As Michael Bisping might say, Cat Zingano didn’t last as long as a virgin on prom night in her long-awaited title bid against Ronda Rousey last weekend, succumbing to an armbar in just 14 seconds of their UFC 184 main event tilt. “Alpha” let her emotions get the best of her, both in the fight itself and in her post-fight interview, and it cost her big time. My heart breaks for the poor woman.
Aside from it’s lightning-quick main event, UFC 184 also saw Josh Koscheck and Mark Munoz get choked within an inch of their lives, Holly Holm pick apart Raquel Pennington (sort of), and Alan Jouban announce his arrival to the welterweight division with a vicious standing hellbow. Join us after the jump for all the highlights from UFC 184, most of which totally aren’t in the form of illegal gifs. (*removes sunglasses*) (*winks*)
(Here’s a full video of Rousey vs. Zingano that definitely won’t be taken down within the hour.)
There’s not much to take away from Rousey’s win, really, other than that she might actually be the most dangerous unarmed person on the planet. In less octagon time than Georges St. Pierre normally spends per fight, Rousey has managed to secure 11 professional wins and two promotional titles, with her past three title fights lasting a combined minute and thirty six seconds. My God. While Jessica Eye and Bethe Correia are chomping at the bit for their shot against Rousey, it’s become more obvious than ever that Cris Cyborg is the only woman left for the champ, and even the 175-pound Brazilian might be in over her head at this point (not that we’ll ever find out, because 175 pounds).
Holly Holm vs. Raquel Pennington
While not being nearly as dominant a victory as the hype she was riding would have predicted, Holly Holm no less managed to stay busy and outwork Raquel Pennington for the first two rounds of the co-main event, only getting briefly dropped in the third. This could only mean, of course, that one of the judges would inexplicably score the fight for Pennington. Honestly, we’re becoming convinced that MMA judges are under the impression that the losing fighter winning one round always equals a split decision.
Jake Ellenberger vs. Josh Koscheck
In what was arguably a loser-leaves-town match for the struggling veterans, Jake Ellenberger pulled a rabbit out of his hat and scored the first submission win of his career over Josh Koscheck via a modified bulldog/north-south choke that literally left Kos foaming at the mouth. The slo-mo replay of Koscheck’s “Help Me God” face will almost certainly give you nightmares. Speaking of which…
Roan Carneiro vs. Mark Munoz
It was not a great night at the office for referee Jerin Valel, who not only allowed Derrick Lewis to continue beating on Ruan Potts for approximately 90 seconds after he had given up, but who watched on in silent awe as Roan Carneiro choked the soul out of Mark Munoz. How the fans in attendance, Kenny Florian in the booth, and everyone watching at home was able to see that Munoz was out before Valel did was truly the most mind-boggling takeaway from the night, and one that he will definitely not be held accountable for in this joke of a sport.
Meanwhile, Mark Munoz has been finished in three straight fights without landing a single significant strike. That is an actual statistic.
Alan Jouban vs. Richard Walsh
One referee who actually appeared to know what he was doing over the weekend was Herb Dean, who gracefully called an end to Alan Jouban’s standing elbow massacre of Richard Walsh before the latter took too much unnecessary damage. Walsh was clearly out on his feet at the time of the stoppage, which is why fans were of course complaining that the fight was called too early. Referees, man. They can’t win.
You won’t see the actual finish from the fight here, because the folks at UFC on FOX apparently believe that you will buy the UFC 184 pay-per-view after the fact to check out a sweet finish from the bottom half of the main card, but you can probably find a gif of it somewhere out there.
UFC 184 Results
Main card
Ronda Rousey def. Cat Zingano via submission (straight armlock)
Holly Holm def. Raquel Pennington via split decision
Jake Ellenberger def. Josh Koscheck via submission (north-south choke)
Alan Jouban def. Richard Walsh via first-round KO
Tony Ferguson def. Gleison Tibau via submission (rear-naked choke)
Undercard
Roan Carneiro def. Mark Munoz via submission (rear-naked choke)
Roman Salazar vs. Norifumi Yamamoto declared no-contest (doctor’s advice)
Tim Means def. Dhiego Lima via first-round TKO
Derrick Lewis def. Ruan Potts via second-round TKO
Valmir Lazaro def. James Krause via split decision
Masio Fullen def. Alexander Torres via split decision
(Easy there, Dave. One second it’s doing your job, the next it’s a lawsuit. via Getty)
By Sam Stilson
Well if we learned anything from UFC Fight Night 61, it’s that MMA is perhaps the most unpredictable sport in the world. That, and Bigfoot Silva is slowing shrinking and will soon be nothing but an Easter Island statue made of glass.
The fact that 10 of 11 underdogs won last week has surely given some hope to the massive long shots featured in both the main and co-main events of this weekend’s UFC 184 card. But confidence is hardly enough when facing the best of the best in the women’s division (though this guy might disagree).
Let’s take a look at who the money-makers are for UFC 184.
(Easy there, Dave. One second it’s doing your job, the next it’s a lawsuit. via Getty)
By Sam Stilson
Well if we learned anything from UFC Fight Night 61, it’s that MMA is perhaps the most unpredictable sport in the world. That, and Bigfoot Silva is slowing shrinking and will soon be nothing but an Easter Island statue made of glass.
The fact that 10 of 11 underdogs won last week has surely given some hope to the massive long shots featured in both the main and co-main events of this weekend’s UFC 184 card. But confidence is hardly enough when facing the best of the best in the women’s division (though this guy might disagree).
Let’s take a look at who the money-makers are for UFC 184.
Both men have not looked particularly dangerous as of late and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the loser get cut. That being said, this fight can be summed up like so: Koscheck no longer has a chin + Ellenberger hits really hard = Easy money.
Krause is a tall, long fighter with decent kickboxing who has only really lost to top-shelf competition (lately anyway). Lazaro hits hard and certainly isn’t an easy opponent, but he just lost a fight to James Vick, who is cut from the same cloth as Krause. This bout will likely go down the same way.
Don’t get me wrong, “El Cucuy” has looked awesome lately; his striking is getting really crisp and he’s continuing to develop his natural power. But Tibau as an underdog is hard to turn down. Gleison only loses to top 10 fighters, so this bout will say a lot about Ferguson’s potential. A slow grinding win for Gleison is enough of a possibility to lay some coin down on this one.
Salazar is probably going to take this one. Not because he’s some blue-chip prospect, but because Kid Yamamoto is a shot fighter. He’s 37, he hasn’t looked good in six years and is coming off a three-year layoff plus a slew of injuries. The guy lost to Vaughan Lee, so a Salazar upset isn’t just a good bet. At this point it’s expected.
This should be a barnburner, and with the odds this close a bet on either man is a good idea. Means is the more ruthless aggressive fighter whereas Lima takes a bit more of a calculated approach. Both have impressive Muay Thai games, but with Lima getting bombed out early by Eddie Gordon, the odds leaning in Means favour is accurate.
