Tag: Holly Holm

UFC 170 Results: Here’s Why the Controversy Around Ronda Rousey’s Win Is Great


(Photo via Getty)

By Matt Saccaro

Ronda Rousey kneed Sara McMann into oblivion in a minute…or at least Herb Dean thought McMann had been kneed into oblivion. MMA fans were split about that part. Some thought the stoppage was deserved—McMann stopped intelligently defending herself when she crumpled to the mat clutching her sides. Others disagreed, citing the fact that McMann managed to rise to her feet immediately after Dean called off the bout (an intrepid Wikipedia vandal belonged to this school of thought).

The irritating ruckus that follows any disputed stoppage polluted Twitter and message boards before Rousey’s hand was even raised. MMA fans were (and still are) pissed.

And that’s fantastic.


(Photo via Getty)

By Matt Saccaro

Ronda Rousey kneed Sara McMann into oblivion in a minute…or at least Herb Dean thought McMann had been kneed into oblivion. MMA fans were split about that part. Some thought the stoppage was deserved—McMann stopped intelligently defending herself when she crumpled to the mat clutching her sides. Others disagreed, citing the fact that McMann managed to rise to her feet immediately after Dean called off the bout (an intrepid Wikipedia vandal belonged to this school of thought).

The irritating ruckus that follows any disputed stoppage polluted Twitter and message boards before Rousey’s hand was even raised. MMA fans were (and still are) pissed.

And that’s fantastic.

The UFC women’s bantamweight division is essentially a feeder system for Ronda Rousey, as well as a promotional vehicle for the conventionally attractive (they’ll never let you forget that) Judo star. Dana White admitted that he only allowed women in the UFC because of her. The rest of the division has no chance at taking the belt from her—did you see Alexis Davis vs. Jessica Eye? Those women are two of the best in the weight class yet they’re both still miles astronomical units away from Rousey.

This formula of sacrificing over-matched fighters to the UFC’s sacred cash cow has worked. Ridiculous Dana White assertions aside, Rousey is one of the UFC’s only stars in a roster so bloated and bland that Lorenzo Fertitta himself probably couldn’t name half the fighters. Rousey is legitimately a super-awesome bad-ass who wrecks people and, to borrow Tomas Rios’ parlance, a Bro Queen. She’s tailor made for the MMA fan, from her unique Judo stylings down to the one-of-a-kind face she sports when walking to the cage. But as great as she is, the conveyor belt of challengers who pose no challenge will get boring.

After a while, fans will realize that the Woman to Beat Rousey™ conveniently always happens to be whoever she’s fighting next, and always gets destroyed anyway despite the hype of being Ronda’s “most dangerous opponent to date.”  One day fans will get sick of Rousey crushing fighters that aren’t on her level in any aspect of MMA or even athleticism.

Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino seems the likely solution for this problem. She’s the only fighter scarier than Rousey. She’s so tough she made Gina Carano—then WMMA’s biggest star—retire after five minutes in the cage with her.

Too bad Dana White has zero interest in booking that fight, at least in the immediate future. Either he’s posturing, trying to downplay Justino’s value for the sake of negotiations, or he’s afraid that the female version of PRIDE-era Wanderlei Silva will slaughter his prized cash cow, Rousey. It seems White is content to not book what would be the biggest fight in WMMA history so Cyborg can continue to torture lesser fighters outside the UFC and Rousey can continue to torture lesser fighters inside the UFC.

Well what about famed boxer Holly Holm? She’s an impressive 6-0 in MMA and Rousey even expressed interest in fighting her. Too bad White doesn’t seem interested in that match either. This December he called Holm’s manager a “lunatic” and questioned the strength of Holm’s competition, insinuating she wasn’t UFC caliber (despite that term being obscenely meaningless in 2014).

The UFC doesn’t want to book the two biggest fights for Rousey. What’s left for her, then? Crushing the same cadre of women ad nauseam until she leaves for Hollywood or baby-making?

That’s why a controversial stoppage in Rousey vs. McMann was the best thing that could’ve happened. Many fans contested Herb Dean’s choice to stop the fight. The UFC can do the whole “Did Rousey REALLY beat McMann?” angle this time, and people will respond positively to it because it’s not a manufactured “OMG OLYMPIANS” gimmick. It’s appealing to the real emotions present. People felt the stoppage was BS, they want to see McMann fight Rousey again because she was doing well until Rousey’s knee smashed her liver.

The stoppage gave the UFC women’s bantamweight division a storyline—something to potentially look forward to other than clinch-throw-armbar-tap. And what if McMann gets a rematch and wins? Then WMMA will no-doubt have its first great trilogy when Rousey and McMann fight a third time. With Rousey’s star power it’ll be huge.

So let’s be thankful for Herb Dean’s questionable call, without it we’d have yawned and asked “who’s Rousey beating next?”

Is Holly Holm As Valuable to the UFC as Her Manager Thinks She Is?


(Fresquez and Holm field questions after her win over Angela Hayes on Friday. / Photo via Getty)

By Mark Dorsey

Former world champion boxer Holly Holm is an MMA franchise. She’s a marquee star, a better face of the UFC women’s division than Ronda Rousey, and worth a six-figure contract — at least according to her manager, Lenny Fresquez, who has been making the media rounds lately trying to convince the public that his undefeated client is the only worthy challenger to Rousey’s belt.

Let’s get one thing straight: Calling Holly Holm a “franchise” is ludicrously premature. Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva are MMA franchises. Beyond that, the list gets very thin. In fact, the concept of franchise players is fading in every sport as the Lebron Jameses and Jacoby Ellsburys of the sports world show that their loyalty only extends to the highest free market bidder.

The argument could be made that UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is a franchise athlete. After all, Dana White has admitted that the UFC only created the women’s division because of her. But Holly Holm is not on the same level of recognizability as Rousey. Sure she was a big boxing draw in New Mexico, but being a regional draw does not translate to franchise-level success with a global brand like the UFC.

Chances are, not many outside of the hardcore MMA and boxing fanbase have even heard of Holly Holm. The Holly Holm brand might bring a few new eyeballs from the boxing world but she is certainly not selling a PPV on her own.

However, just because Holly Holm is not a “franchise” does not mean she wouldn’t make a great investment for the UFC’s fledgling women’s division. Holm is a fantastic athlete. Once considered by many as the best female boxer on the planet, she was twice named Ring Magazine’s female Fighter of the Year. Training under Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn, she not only has the physical ability and attributes, she also has the right team around her to be a world champion in MMA.

It’s possible that Holm may one day be a UFC franchise athlete. She certainly has the potential to dominate a women’s division that is severely lacking in high-quality strikers. She could also develop into a legitimate MMA star. She’s personable, good looking and professional. However, she’s not there yet.


(Fresquez and Holm field questions after her win over Angela Hayes on Friday. / Photo via Getty)

By Mark Dorsey

Former world champion boxer Holly Holm is an MMA franchise. She’s a marquee star, a better face of the UFC women’s division than Ronda Rousey, and worth a six-figure contract — at least according to her manager, Lenny Fresquez, who has been making the media rounds lately trying to convince the public that his undefeated client is the only worthy challenger to Rousey’s belt.

Let’s get one thing straight: Calling Holly Holm a “franchise” is ludicrously premature. Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva are MMA franchises. Beyond that, the list gets very thin. In fact, the concept of franchise players is fading in every sport as the Lebron Jameses and Jacoby Ellsburys of the sports world show that their loyalty only extends to the highest free market bidder.

The argument could be made that UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is a franchise athlete. After all, Dana White has admitted that the UFC only created the women’s division because of her. But Holly Holm is not on the same level of recognizability as Rousey. Sure she was a big boxing draw in New Mexico, but being a regional draw does not translate to franchise-level success with a global brand like the UFC.

Chances are, not many outside of the hardcore MMA and boxing fanbase have even heard of Holly Holm. The Holly Holm brand might bring a few new eyeballs from the boxing world but she is certainly not selling a PPV on her own.

However, just because Holly Holm is not a “franchise” does not mean she wouldn’t make a great investment for the UFC’s fledgling women’s division. Holm is a fantastic athlete. Once considered by many as the best female boxer on the planet, she was twice named Ring Magazine’s female Fighter of the Year. Training under Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn, she not only has the physical ability and attributes, she also has the right team around her to be a world champion in MMA.

It’s possible that Holm may one day be a UFC franchise athlete. She certainly has the potential to dominate a women’s division that is severely lacking in high-quality strikers. She could also develop into a legitimate MMA star. She’s personable, good looking and professional. However, she’s not there yet.

Holm hasn’t fought anybody even near the top 10 in MMA and it’s yet to be seen what will happen once she gets taken down by a quality grappler. Her last fight was a forgettable unanimous decision win over 40-year old Angela Hayes, who has a losing record. Even during her successful boxing career, there were those in the boxing community who felt Holm was protected by not facing top competition, like Cecilia Braekhus, and mostly fighting in her hometown.

Though her early MMA career has intentionally followed the boxing model of record-padding en route to a title fight, Holm needs to fight high-quality competition in order to demand anything close to six-figures upon entry into the UFC. Fresquez claims that Holm makes more than 80% of UFC fighters. That may have been true in her boxing career — although even that seems doubtful — but she certainly didn’t make that much fighting for Bellator and Legacy FC.

The Holly Holm controversy will likely devolve into a debate about unfair UFC fighter pay in general. That debate has been going on for years and will continue to rage for years to come. However, this is about the worth of one particular fighter in the context of the current WMMA landscape, and Holm’s management needs to be careful not to price her out of a potentially lucrative long-term UFC career.

Zuffa has shown that they are willing to let free agents sign with other companies if the UFC feels the fighters are not worth what they could get on the free market. For every Hector Lombard who gets signed to an inflated UFC contract, there are the Ben Askrens of the world who the UFC decides aren’t worth it.

Dana White has called Holly Holm “the female Conor McGregor” because of the amount of MMA fans telling him to sign her. There’s no doubt the UFC wants Holm but they don’t exactly need her either. They have a long list of contenders waiting to challenge for Rousey’s belt with Miesha Tate, Cat Zingano, Alexis Davis, and Sara McMann waiting in the wings. Holm versus Rousey would certainly be a high-profile matchup. It would be a marketing dream — a pound-for-pound world champion boxer versus the Olympic judoka and undisputed MMA champion — if we ever get to see it happen. At this point it looks like a big if.

The MMA landscape is littered with managers who have screwed over their fighters by overvaluing their clients. So far, Lenny Fresquez has done an outstanding job promoting — and some would argue protecting — Holm’s career, both in boxing and MMA. However, his recent claim that Holm needs a six-figure contract in order to sign with the UFC is delusional. Holm has a bright future in MMA. She would be a great addition to the UFC’s roster and could pose a legitimate threat to Rousey’s belt. However, Fresquez needs to recognize that WMMA is still in its infancy and the market value is not the same as it is in boxing. He’s doing his job trying to get the most for his client but he needs to be careful not to play his client right out of the UFC picture altogether.

If Holm is worth it, she’ll establish herself as a top contender and get her six-figure contract in due time. However, that time is not now.

Squash Match Alert: Holly Holm’s Next Victim Will Be a 40-Year-Old Woman With a .500 Record


(Yet another tragic defeat for the Zulu family. / Photo via Sherdog)

Look, we know it can’t be easy to find credible opponents for undefeated bantamweight Holly Holm (5-0, all wins by KO/TKO), who has deservedly picked up the unofficial title of Best Striker in Women’s MMA. Most of the top female MMA talent at 135 pounds is already in the UFC, with a couple of holdouts still working in Invicta. The fact that Holm isn’t already under contract with the UFC is by design: Her trainer Mike Winkeljohn says that he wants to build her name to the point where she can demand top-level money by the time she enters the Octagon, and walk straight into a super-fight. Until then, Holm will be padding out her record with whoever’s willing to take a beating.

Coming off her LFC 24 demolition of some woman named Nikki Knudsen, Holm will return to the cage on December 6th in the main event of Fresquez Promotions: Havoc  against — get this — Angela Hayes, a 40-year-old bantamweight from Colorado Springs who carries a career record of 6-6. Hayes boasts four wins by guillotine choke, four losses by armbar, and hasn’t competed in two years. She sounds perfect.

“Havoc” will take place at the Route 66 Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which means that Holm will have home-town advantage as well. Good grief. By the way, I tried to Google ‘Angela Hayes’ to find out more about her, and most of the results were about the Mena Suvari character in ‘American Beauty’. Not that I’m complaining.


(Yet another tragic defeat for the Zulu family. / Photo via Sherdog)

Look, we know it can’t be easy to find credible opponents for undefeated bantamweight Holly Holm (5-0, all wins by KO/TKO), who has deservedly picked up the unofficial title of Best Striker in Women’s MMA. Most of the top female MMA talent at 135 pounds is already in the UFC, with a couple of holdouts still working in Invicta. The fact that Holm isn’t already under contract with the UFC is by design: Her trainer Mike Winkeljohn says that he wants to build her name to the point where she can demand top-level money by the time she enters the Octagon, and walk straight into a super-fight. Until then, Holm will be padding out her record with whoever’s willing to take a beating.

Coming off her LFC 24 demolition of some woman named Nikki Knudsen, Holm will return to the cage on December 6th in the main event of Fresquez Promotions: Havoc  against — get this — Angela Hayes, a 40-year-old bantamweight from Colorado Springs who carries a career record of 6-6. Hayes boasts four wins by guillotine choke, four losses by armbar, and hasn’t competed in two years. She sounds perfect.

“Havoc” will take place at the Route 66 Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which means that Holm will have home-town advantage as well. Good grief. By the way, I tried to Google ‘Angela Hayes’ to find out more about her, and most of the results were about the Mena Suvari character in ‘American Beauty’. Not that I’m complaining.

Fallon Fox Gets TKO’d, Holly Holm and Henry Cejudo Stay Undefeated [VIDEOS]

(Fallon Fox vs. Ashlee Evans-Smith highlights, via AXS TV Fights)

There was a considerable amount of combat sports action this weekend. Timothy Bradley took a split decision over Juan Manuel Marquez, retaining his WBO welterweight title. Tyrone Spong avenged a past draw against Nathan Corbett with a vicious left hook knockout in the second round at Glory 11. But this is CagePotato; we deal in MMA here. And while most of the focus was on Bellator this weekend (which is to say, there wasn’t a lot of focus this weekend), there were three other notable MMA fights that warranted attention. Olympic wrestling gold medalist Henry Cejudo notched yet another victory, and both Holly Holm and Fallon Fox, WMMA prospects fan-favorities celebrities fighters who you know about, fought this weekend. While the results were different for the three, each took a step towards fulfilling what potential they possess. For better or worse.

We’ll start with Fallon Fox, just to get her out of the way. Despite the publicity she’s received, Fox isn’t what you might call a “good” fighter. Her opponents thus far have been terrible, and the supposed advantage she possesses from being transgender is looking tenuous at best after her appearance at Championship Fighting Alliance 12 in Coral Gables, Florida on Saturday. Although Fox had her moments in the first round, her opponent Ashlee Evans-Smith ramped up the pressure in the second and it paid dividends. Smith, in just her second professional fight, managed to take Fox down and almost finish her in the second round before the bell sounded. There was some controversy, as the crowd was so enthusiastic (“virulently transphobic” could also work here) that it was unclear at what point the bell had rung and whether the fight had been stopped. Ultimately, it didn’t matter. Evans-Smith simply repeated the process in the third round, putting Fox away with punches from the mount position.


(Fallon Fox vs. Ashlee Evans-Smith highlights, via AXS TV Fights)

There was a considerable amount of combat sports action this weekend. Timothy Bradley took a split decision over Juan Manuel Marquez, retaining his WBO welterweight title. Tyrone Spong avenged a past draw against Nathan Corbett with a vicious left hook knockout in the second round at Glory 11. But this is CagePotato; we deal in MMA here. And while most of the focus was on Bellator this weekend (which is to say, there wasn’t a lot of focus this weekend), there were three other notable MMA fights that warranted attention. Olympic wrestling gold medalist Henry Cejudo notched yet another victory, and both Holly Holm and Fallon Fox, WMMA prospects fan-favorities celebrities fighters who you know about, fought this weekend. While the results were different for the three, each took a step towards fulfilling what potential they possess. For better or worse.

We’ll start with Fallon Fox, just to get her out of the way. Despite the publicity she’s received, Fox isn’t what you might call a “good” fighter. Her opponents thus far have been terrible, and the supposed advantage she possesses from being transgender is looking tenuous at best after her appearance at Championship Fighting Alliance 12 in Coral Gables, Florida on Saturday. Although Fox had her moments in the first round, her opponent Ashlee Evans-Smith ramped up the pressure in the second and it paid dividends. Smith, in just her second professional fight, managed to take Fox down and almost finish her in the second round before the bell sounded. There was some controversy, as the crowd was so enthusiastic (“virulently transphobic” could also work here) that it was unclear at what point the bell had rung and whether the fight had been stopped. Ultimately, it didn’t matter. Evans-Smith simply repeated the process in the third round, putting Fox away with punches from the mount position.

As for fighters with actual ability, Henry Cejudo kept his unblemished record in MMA with a dominant decision over Ryan Hollis at Legacy Fighting Championship 24, Friday night in Dallas. (You can check out some rather poor-quality black-and-white footage from the fight here.) The first round was close, as Hollis managed to avoid the takedowns of the decorated freestyle wrestler. While Hollis’ will never wilted, his takedown defense did. Cejudo took Hollis to the canvas in both the second and third rounds, achieving dominant positions and landing ground and pound at will. He upped his record to 5-0, and at the age of 26 seems primed for a jump up in competition soon. Considering his pedigree, it would be a shame if he waited much longer.

Speaking of pedigree, Holly Holm, a former welterweight champion boxer, also maintained her perfect record. Fighting on the supporting card of LFC 24, Holm brutally dispatched her outmatched opponent Nikki Knudsen, who never stood a chance. From the first round on, Holm was merciless with her punishment; Knudsen was battered throughout the round, unable to mount any offense of her own. To her credit, she endured, but not for long. Holm injured Knudsen with a kick to the body in the second round, before swarming with knees and punches, forcing a TKO stoppage at 1:18 of round 2. Video of the full fight is here; highlights are at the end of the post.

It’s only a matter of time before Holm and Cejudo make their way to higher-profile organizations. In Holm’s case, she’s already 31 and doesn’t have as much time left as Cejudo does. Given the relatively small talent pool in the UFC’s women’s bantamweight division, it wouldn’t be surprising if she made her way into the promotion sooner rather than later. As for Fox, her influence in the sport will remain consigned to her status as a barometer for social tolerance amongst the sport’s fanbase, and as a controversial figure regarding her right to fight — but it won’t extend beyond that. For Holm and Cejudo, however, opportunity awaits.

— George Shunick


(Holly Holm vs. Nikki Knudsen highlights, via AXS TV Fights)

Friday Link Dump: A “New” Anderson Silva, 6 Players Who Can Save Your Fantasy Football League + More

CagePotato’s Brian D’Souza Talks the UFC’s Media Problems (Sirius XM Fight Club)

10 Reasons to Watch UFC 164 (MMAJunkie)

What You Need to Know About Fight Night 27’s KOTN winner Brandon Thatch (BleacherReport)

Former Multi-Division Boxing Champion Holly Holm Added to Legacy FC 24 (Sherdog)

Free Fight: Henderson vs. Pettis 1 at WEC 53 (Youtube/UFC)

Silva: ‘The New Anderson is Coming in December’ (MMAFighting)

6 Undervalued Players Who Can Win Your Fantasy Football League (MadeMan)

THE ADVENTURES OF SOUTHIE BATMAN, EPISODE 1 (FilmDrunk)

20 Photos: Girls Acting Like Dudes (WorldWideWeb) 

When Sports Heroes Go Bad (DoubleViking)

8 Weeks to More Muscle (Men’sFitness)

25 People Fooled by The Onion (Break)

CagePotato’s Brian D’Souza Talks the UFC’s Media Problems (Sirius XM Fight Club)

10 Reasons to Watch UFC 164 (MMAJunkie)

What You Need to Know About Fight Night 27′s KOTN winner Brandon Thatch (BleacherReport)

Former Multi-Division Boxing Champion Holly Holm Added to Legacy FC 24 (Sherdog)

Free Fight: Henderson vs. Pettis 1 at WEC 53 (Youtube/UFC)

Silva: ‘The New Anderson is Coming in December’ (MMAFighting)

6 Undervalued Players Who Can Win Your Fantasy Football League (MadeMan)

THE ADVENTURES OF SOUTHIE BATMAN, EPISODE 1 (FilmDrunk)

20 Photos: Girls Acting Like Dudes (WorldWideWeb) 

When Sports Heroes Go Bad (DoubleViking)

8 Weeks to More Muscle (Men’sFitness)

25 People Fooled by The Onion (Break)

[VIDEO/GIF Party] Holly Holm, Leonard Garcia Win Big at LFC 23

(Video of and commentary on Holly Holm kicking ass via cakeboy38)

Former professional boxer Holly Holm and UFC veteran Leonard Garcia both won with impressive KO’s last night in Houston, TX at LFC 23. Holm remained unbeaten with a first round head kick knockout of Allana Jones.

Garcia took Rey Trujillo out in the third round with a head kick and flurry of punches. The win is the first for Garcia in six bouts and Holm improved her MMA record to 4-0.

But enough of all that – their knockouts were plain mean and nasty. So, check out the video above and gifs (courtesy of Zombie Prophet) below to make your Saturday even better.

Garcia enjoys a win:

Two more angles of Holm getting it done:

– Elias Cepeda


(Video of and commentary on Holly Holm kicking ass via cakeboy38)

Former professional boxer Holly Holm and UFC veteran Leonard Garcia both won with impressive KO’s last night in Houston, TX at LFC 23. Holm remained unbeaten with a first round head kick knockout of Allana Jones.

Garcia took Rey Trujillo out in the third round with a head kick and flurry of punches. The win is the first for Garcia in six bouts and Holm improved her MMA record to 4-0.

But enough of all that – their knockouts were plain mean and nasty. So, check out the video above and gifs (courtesy of Zombie Prophet) below to make your Saturday even better.

Garcia enjoys a win:

Two more angles of Holm getting it done:

– Elias Cepeda