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Rousey vs. Holm: Latest Comments, Weigh-in Info and Predictions for UFC 193

The next chapter of Ronda Rousey’s tour of domination through mixed martial arts continues Saturday night in Australia, when she faces Holly Holm in the main event of UFC 193.
Friday’s weigh-in was nothing close to cordial between the two bantamweight …

The next chapter of Ronda Rousey‘s tour of domination through mixed martial arts continues Saturday night in Australia, when she faces Holly Holm in the main event of UFC 193.

Friday’s weigh-in was nothing close to cordial between the two bantamweight stars, who traded pushes, shoves and some choice words shortly after they both successfully weighed in at 134 pounds. That only sets the stage for what should be another memorable fight.

Let’s take a closer look into everything to know for Rousey-Holm, along with predictions for the bout.

Rousey vs. Holm Preview and Prediction

Rousey and Holm do not like each other.

Can you tell? If you saw any bit of Friday’s weigh-in extravaganza from Melbourne, you’re likely aware of this.

Take a look at the moment the two shared during weigh-ins, with UFC President Dana White having to prevent them from duking it out right there:

Most of Rousey’s fights throughout her UFC career haven’t included fireworks like this in the weigh-ins. That would seem to indicate a bit more is on the line than usual, and Holm’s career suggests that as well.

Rousey talked up her opponent shortly after the fight was announced, giving Holm props as the toughest striker she’s ever faced, per ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto:

“She’s the most decorated striker we have in all of mixed martial arts,” Rousey said of Holm. “Definitely my biggest challenge to date. I’m super excited about it.”

Rousey later added: “She’s not the average chick I would fight. She’s the best striker I’ve ever fought, and striking is something I learned much later in my career.”

Rousey may have never faced a fighter quite like Holm. But neither Holm nor the rest of the UFC has ever seen anyone quite like Rousey.

She wins every time she steps into the Octagon, and she typically does so before the folks at home can get settled into their seats. If you miss the opening 30 seconds, you’ve likely missed all there is to see.

Take a look at what Rousey has done in MMA, which includes 11 of 12 victories coming in the first round, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Holm, and every other woman on the roster, has heard nothing other than how Rousey has ended fights within the first minute. The 34-year-old Holm has the poise and mentality necessary to avoid that.

But she doesn’t have enough to avoid the inevitable—which is another Rousey victory in the first round. Holm will get too close after establishing herself early, and Rousey will take advantage, submitting her with ease to win her 13th fight in as many appearances.

Prediction: Rousey wins via first-round submission.

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Ronda Rousey Adds Last-Minute UFC 193 Interest with Weigh-in Drama

For all of her bluster, it generally takes special circumstances to bring the nastiness out of Ronda Rousey.
You know what I mean, of course. Rousey is competitive with all of her opponents, and she makes her media rounds and talks about how she’s goin…

For all of her bluster, it generally takes special circumstances to bring the nastiness out of Ronda Rousey.

You know what I mean, of course. Rousey is competitive with all of her opponents, and she makes her media rounds and talks about how she’s going to beat them because she’s the best in the world and all that. But the fire comes out when there’s some kind of real dislike. We’ve only really seen it with Miesha Tate and Bethe Correia. We have, of course, seen it with Cris “Cyborg” Justino, and she isn’t even an opponent. Yet.

But for the most part, Rousey is respectful to her opponents, provided they afford her the same measure of respect. And until Friday afternoon’s weigh-ins in Melbourne, that’s exactly how things had gone down with Holly Holm, the opponent Rousey faces tomorrow at UFC 193.

Having spent time with Holm for a story in 2014, I can tell you one thing I know for sure: She’s nice. She just is. She’s quiet and humble and just all-around sweet. In fact, I’d say that’s the first impression she leaves on you when you meet her for the first time. And so anyone expecting her to go into the lead-up to this fight with Rousey and instantly turn into someone she’s not—even if it’s for the purpose of building up the fight—well, they were sorely mistaken.

And, again: things were amicable. Until today, when all hell broke loose. Or at least appeared to.

You know the deal. Holm weighed in at 134 pounds, then waited for Rousey to do the same. After the champ weighed in, she walked right over and got in Holm’s face. Holm stood her ground and put her first in Rousey’s face.

And this is where things got a little weird and heated.

Rousey appeared to not take very kindly to Holm touching her face with her fist, jerking Holm’s hand away. Dana White stepped in with that look on his face that says “I’m really supposed to be pretending this is bad but oh man this is great.” The two fighters stared at each other and backed away.

After, when Rogan was interviewing Rousey, she cut a promo straight out of World Wrestling Entertainment.

I just wanted to get in her face and show her that I was there for a reason. She’s the one that put the fist on my face. I didn’t touch her. She’s the one that touched me and I told her that fake, sweet act, I can see right through it. I really do. It was all fake. All until now. All that respect, all that everything, all being sweet. I see right now that it’s fake and you’re gonna get it on Sunday.

You’re not the first person that thought that you had the perfect plan to beat me. It’s not the first time that your camp thought they had the perfect plan to beat me. I’m gonna show you on Sunday why I’m the champ.

After, Rousey told the Fox Sports 1 post-fight television show that she felt Holm was the instigator.

“I just wanted to place my hand on the outside. That was it. I could tell she got really frustrated and didn’t like that and actually put her fist on my face,” she said. “I didn’t really think that was called for at all.”

And just like that, a fight that had very little going for it in the way of story lines—outside of the usual “how fast will Rousey win this time” bit, of course—suddenly has some drama heading into Saturday. Rousey virtually guaranteed that the weigh-in clip will be repeatedly shown on ESPN and other outlets. The scuffle probably added a ton of late pay per view buys and piqued the interest of some folks who were considering skipping tomorrow night’s card.

Was it real? I have my doubts. I’m not telling you that Rousey and Holm huddled together behind the curtain and worked the whole thing up. But would it really surprise you if that were actually the case? I mean, how many times have we been duped into believing that Fighter A absolutely hates Fighter B, only to find out after the fight that they were just trying to hook us into opening up our wallets?

It has happened more times than I can remember. And Rousey is a very smart promoter of her own fans, not to mention a huge pro wrestling fan. Even if Holm wasn’t involved, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit to find out that Rousey decided to spice things up a bit and add in some last-minute interest by creating drama where it doesn’t exist and then cutting a wrestling-style promo.

Either way, Saturday night just got a lot more interesting.

Jeremy Botter covers mixed martial arts for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.

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Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm Skirmish at UFC 193 Weigh-Ins, Rousey Then Cuts Promo

Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm stepped onto the scale for the UFC 193 weigh-ins and boy, things escalated quickly. After checking in at a lean, clean 134 pounds, Rousey immediately went after Holm, getting in her face and provoking a bit of pushing and sh…

While it looked ugly, the two were quickly broken up before things escalated more. When it came time for the final word before the fight, Holm largely brushed it off. Rousey, though? Oh, she had a lot more to say:

It was a surprising turn from what has been a relatively cool build-up. While Rousey’s last fight, against Bethe Correia, was defined by the Brazilian’s nonstop attempts to get under Rousey’s skin, Holm has been generally quiet and respectful regarding the champ. Rousey, similarly, has not really talked any smack or thrown any shade.

This adds a bit of heat to the Rousey-Holm rivalry. They are set to face off Saturday (American time) at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia. It might just be time to get excited.

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Video: Watch UFC 193 Weigh-Ins Live, Featuring Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm

Saturday’s UFC 193 is almost here. Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm are set to have their final staredown outside the cage this afternoon in Melbourne, Australia at the UFC 193 weigh-ins, and the level of excitement continues to grow. The build to Rous…

The mainstream media has accepted Rousey as an A-list star. While most of the UFC roster fights for attention on Fox Sports 1, Rousey announced her battle with Holm on Good Morning America. The acclaimed trailer for the fight was first rolled out through Ellen DeGeneres. Heck, Rousey even guest-hosted SportsCenter.

Oddsmakers are just as cuckoo for Rousey. According to OddsShark.com, she is sitting as high as a minus-2000 favorite with some outlets, and there is so much interest in wagering on her success that new minute-by-minute prop bets have been introduced, per BestFightOdds.com.

Oh, and the fans down in Melbourne? Well, let’s just say there’s a reason why the UFC pegged Rousey as the person capable of filling up Etihad Stadium. The UFC is looking to not just beat its previous attendance record of 55,724, set by Georges St-Pierre vs. Jake Shields at UFC 129, but blow it out of the water by matching the stadium’s best of 70,000.

The UFC has a lot riding on Rousey here, and it will be interesting to see if it pays off. The weigh-ins kick off at 5 p.m. ET, and you can watch them live on the video above. Make sure to check out our live blog as well.

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UFC 193 Weigh-in Results: Rousey vs. Holm Fight Card

UFC 193 is almost here. Ronda Rousey is set to defend her bantamweight crown against No. 7-ranked contender Holly Holm in the evening’s main event.
Both women are undefeated and former champions of their respective disciplines. Holm will attempt to sho…

UFC 193 is almost here. Ronda Rousey is set to defend her bantamweight crown against No. 7-ranked contender Holly Holm in the evening’s main event.

Both women are undefeated and former champions of their respective disciplines. Holm will attempt to shock the world by upsetting Rousey. The world is not anticipating a Holm win but rather wondering how quickly she will lose.

And Rousey is not even the biggest favorite on the card. That distinction belongs to Joanna Jedrzejczyk who will defend her strawweight championship against Valerie Letourneau in the co-main event in Melbourne. Eleven more fights fill out the card.

On Friday afternoon, the 26 athletes will hit the scale at 5 p.m. ET. Bleacher Report will have full coverage of the weigh-ins. Check back to find out if everyone comes in on weight for Saturday’s extravaganza.

UFC 193 Fight Card

Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm
Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Valerie Letourneau
Mark Hunt vs. Antonio Silva
Robert Whittaker vs. Uriah Hall
Stefan Struve vs. Jared Rosholt
Jake Matthews vs. Akbarh Arreola
Kyle Noke vs. Peter Sobotta
Anthony Perosh vs. Gian Villante
Richie Vaculik vs. Danny Martinez
Dan Kelly vs. Steve Montgomery
Richard Walsh vs. Steve Kennedy
James Moontasri vs. Anton Zafir
Ben Nguyen vs. Ryan Benoit

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Rousey vs. Holm: Latest UFC 193 Odds, Predictions and Pre-Fight Twitter Hype

UFC is giving fight fans an early holiday treat with Ronda Rousey’s return to the Octagon, as the undefeated bantamweight champion puts her title on the line against undefeated challenger Holly Holm at UFC 193 in Australia on Saturday night.
Rousey has…

UFC is giving fight fans an early holiday treat with Ronda Rousey‘s return to the Octagon, as the undefeated bantamweight champion puts her title on the line against undefeated challenger Holly Holm at UFC 193 in Australia on Saturday night.

Rousey has managed to transcend the sport of mixed martial arts in less than three years with UFC. She’s become the biggest star, appearing in movies and magazine covers, but never does the 28-year-old look more comfortable than in the cage and reminding everyone why she is the best in the world.

Holm comes into the UFC 193 main event under the radar, with just two UFC victories under her belt, but the former boxing champion is not to be taken lightly. She’s never lost an MMA fight since transitioning to the sport in 2011 and knows a win over Rousey can make her career.

Rousey vs. Holm Odds

Rousey vs. Holm Preview

You know that a fighter is operating on an entirely different level from anyone else when the biggest question is if the over/under for match time is 30 seconds.

That’s not even an exaggeration, as Odds Shark notes the current odds for Rousey to finish Holm within the first minute is plus-200. A 60-second bout would feel like an eternity for the champion, as her last three matches have taken a combined 64 seconds.

That trio of victories is really emblematic of how Rousey has operated throughout her career covering 12 fights, per ESPN Stats & Info:

By comparison, Holm spends a lot of time in the cage during her fights. She’s never won a fight before the second round in her career and has had both of her UFC victories go to the judges’ table.

Rousey and Holm couldn’t be more different in their approach to fighting, as this table from MMA Infographics shows:

There are always stories about how Rousey has come to be so dominant in a sport where one good punch from an opponent can end everything. No one has the answer, other than to say she is great at what she does.

Rousey, to her credit, told Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com the difference between herself and her opponent on Saturday:

Even though a sentence like that comes off as hyperbolic, there is something to the obsessive nature with which Rousey operates. Holm certainly fixates on her craft. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be very good and in the main event of a show that could break UFC’s all-time attendance record.

But Rousey has a way of channeling all of her natural ability and work ethic into something so unique that it’s become must-see television.

To Holm‘s credit, she’s not lacking confidence despite the world betting against her, per Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports.

“I don’t mind you saying I’m a huge underdog, because I am a huge underdog,” Holm said. “But the odds have nothing to do with how I’ll perform. I wouldn’t have taken the fight if I didn’t think I was ready or didn’t believe I could win.”

Expanding on that point, via UFC on Twitter, Holm provided a brief explanation for how upsets in sports happen:

If there is an opponent who can defeat Rousey, a boxer would seem to be a good bet. The champ is so good on the ground because of her judo background that keeping her standing negates her best asset.

Boxers usually pack a wallop with their punches, so that gives you a knockout weapon. The problem for Holm is she’s never really had knockout power, dating back to her days as a boxer. The 34-year-old has 47 combined boxing and MMA fights. Fifteen have ended via knockout or TKO.

Someone will find a formula to defeat Rousey eventually, but Holm doesn’t have it. The contrast in style favors Rousey because she’s evolved, adding punching power with three knockouts in her last four fights, and still has the ground game in her back pocket if necessary.

Holm is making a huge jump in competition after defeating Raquel Pennington and Marion Reneau in her first two UFC fights. She is not going to wilt under the pressure, but the challenger has never fought an opponent like Rousey.

Prediction: Rousey wins via first-round TKO

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