The kick that handed Ronda Rousey her first defeat
Australia was the home of UFC 193, as Ronda Rousey was looking to continue her undefeated streak in the world of MMA. Following an intense weigh-in on Friday, where a legit punch was thrown by her opponent Holly Holm, the two had extra animosity and motivation heading into their epic showdown. Compared to her last six fights, which lasted under 2 minutes total, Ronda surprisingly didn’t charge her opponent in the opening seconds like her previous outings.
Throughout the first round, Holly used her kickboxing background to land some significant shots in the early moments – including a rare sighting of Rousey bleeding. Visibly fatigued from taking body hits and blows to the face, Ronda was in disbelief, while Holm’s trainer was screaming how their gameplay was working to perfection. This was awkward, because Ronda’s mom had called out her trainer just a few weeks ago for not properly readying her for fights – and it showed.
After intermission, both opponents returned to the center of the octagon, where Holly would shock the entire world, landing a knockout kick to Rousey and win the fight. Ronda was knocked out before she even landed on the ground, and tried to maintain consciousness while sitting in the ring. She was taken to a local hospital shortly after.
Many are already declaring this the biggest upset in the sport’s history, as Holm closed as a +800 underdog to the former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship. Holly has also become the second person ever to hold the belt, which was ownder by Rousey since 2012 in Strikeforce.
Now with the Cris Cyborg dream match all but over after tonight, Dana White now heads back to the drawing board, after the face of his company has lost her belt.
The Knockout heard around the world!
“EA SPORTS UFC 2” Announced for PlayStation 4 & Xbox One