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Almost halfway through the eighth year since her last MMA appearance ended emphatically inside a minute against two-division champion Amanda Nunes, former UFC bantamweight champion and Olympic judo bronze medallist Ronda Rousey has recently spoken about how those in the media propping her up during her prime were quick to treat her poorly after consecutive KO losses.
Continue reading “UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey unhappy after self-inflicted negative media turn”
Alex Pereira made the first defence of his light-heavyweight title, avenging teammate and close friend Glover Teixeira’s punishing five-round defeat vs. former titlist Jamahal Hill in the UFC 300 headliner to cap an unforgettable night’s action from Las Vegas after contrasting championship victories for strawweight queen Zhang Weili and new BMF titleholder Max Holloway.
Continue reading “UFC 300: Pereira flattens Hill to retain 205lb title as Weili and Holloway win big”
The recently-retired two-division UFC world champion spoke about being surprised by having a burning desire to rest and recover, after accruing damage aplenty across her body given the gruelling training camps and various fights over the years. Yet the Lioness didn’t close the door on a return, even aged 35… Continue reading “Amanda Nunes confirms she has nerve damage in her legs, doesn’t rule out return”
Mayra Bueno Silva was understandably overcome with emotion after Saturday night’s UFC headliner, as the size of her latest achievement dawned on her. The 31-year-old Brazilian became the first since her compatriot and former two-division champion Amanda Nunes to stop Holly Holm, sending the future Hall of Famer closer to retirement – before calling for a shot at bantamweight gold. Continue reading “UFC Vegas 77: Mayra Bueno Silva scores a massive scalp as 135lb title talk resumes”
Since losing to Holly Holm (UD3) at UFC 246 in January 2020, Raquel Pennington [2] has won five straight and looks set for a second crack at UFC gold later this year. Amanda Nunes’ recent retirement leaves a long-awaited matchup vs. former champon Julianna Pena the most likely play for the promotion, but will Holm have a say when she returns on Saturday night? Continue reading “Raquel Pennington expects Julianna Pena matchup to be for newly-vacant 135lb title”
Seven days on from a split decision result that sparked social media debate at the UFC Vegas 55 main event, I take a deeper look at a women’s bantamweight matchup between two top-ranked contenders which may have significant implications in the division’s title picture. Continue reading “UFC Vegas 55: Lingering questions persist, a week after Holm-Vieira disputed decision”
Thrust into her first UFC fight week for almost five years, Miesha Tate was unequivocal about being where she belongs after retiring. The former women’s bantamweight champion praised upcoming opponent Marion Reneau but also hopes this weekend ultimately proves the important first step en route to achieving gold once more in future as her comeback trail starts. Continue reading “UFC Vegas 31: Tate eyes UFC title in comeback, but refuses to rush ahead of Reneau matchup”
After news broke that two-weight champion Amanda Nunes would be defending her 135-lb belt against #6 ranked women’s bantamweight Julianna Pena at UFC 265 on August 7 yesterday, it again reinforced the unwritten rule that some momentum, mixed with trash talk and geniune heat can be utilised to skip the traditional queue under the guise of a fresh divisional matchup.
Continue reading “Ask and you may receive: Julianna Pena’s boldness earns her dubious title shot”
A one-off or necessary acid test as she targets becoming a two-time champion? After a four-and-a-half year retirement, former UFC bantamweight champion Miesha Tate (18-7, 5-4 UFC) makes her return on July 17 against Marion Reneau in the latter’s final professional fight.
Continue reading “Coming out of retirement, former UFC champion Miesha Tate returns on July 17”
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Holly Holm showed why she’s the #2 ranked women’s bantamweight contender with a commanding decision win against Irene Aldana (#6) in the night’s main event, after Germaine de Randamie showed evolution in her game – defending her number one contender spot for Amanda Nunes’ belt courtesy of a third-round submission victory to stifle Julianna Pena (#4).
Continue reading “UFC on ESPN 16: Holly Holm dominant in main event UD win over Irene Aldana”
A week before the biggest fight of his professional career, Conor McGregor is set to face Floyd Mayweather in a $700m megabout. So yes, we must discuss this question and answer it too. Continue reading “Is Conor McGregor in danger of turning into the next Ronda Rousey?”
In one of UFC’s most memorable matches this year, 34-year-old Holly Holm became the first athlete – male or female – to win both boxing and MMA championships, with a sweetly-connected kick to Ronda’s face, knocking the now-former champion out within a flash.
The unthinkable happened. Ronda Rousey, highly-regarded as one of the best female athletes of all-time, put her UFC Bantamweight championship on the line once more – against a worthy opponent in former boxing champion Holly Holm.
The outcome? Ronda’s first loss in her MMA career, her three-year reign as champion over. How? A brutal, relentless blow which sent her crashing down to the canvas in dramatic circumstances.
Going into the fight itself, Holm was touted as the strongest challenger that Rousey has had to face – considering her impressive pedigree in both boxing and her current unbeaten streak in MMA too. The build-up to the match was eerily subdued, up until Saturday evening’s weigh-ins. Tensions got heated, so much so that to describe the conflict between the two as intense, would be an understatement.
Nothing was scripted, fake or exaggerated. Raw emotion was expressed on both their faces because ultimately, they both wanted to win. In the past, Ronda has always been heavily criticised for her outspoken approach, but has been able to back that up with her fighting style.
No-one was disappointed either, as you could tell after the first 60 seconds that Holm wasn’t just there to make up the numbers.
Constantly navigating her way around the Octagon, she had a rigid gameplan and was eager to stick to it. Ronda’s impressive streak in the past has been somewhat helped by a defensive nature from the majority of her opponents, who have a frustrating tendency to back into corners and consequently allow her the freedom to unload with a succession of punches, kicks and jabs to effectively finish the job quickly.
Holm continued to circle around the Octagon, refusing to give Rousey much space to bully her – like she did so emphatically against Bethe Correia three months prior.
Oblique kicks helped to slow Ronda down, whilst each straight punch was met by a gasp from the record crowd of 56,214 inside the Ethiad Stadium. The champion, was receiving a firm beating and Holm made sure everyone knew about it, too.
That’s not to say, Rousey didn’t put up a fight. She sure did, but her gameplan was fragmented and meant she often found herself chasing shadows to try and keep up with Holm – who seemed to be sensing the perfect moments to attack and hurt Ronda to devastating effect.
One of the main issues surrounding Ronda was her approach, she came from the wrong side – from right-to-left, even though Holm is a left-handed striker, giving the 34-year-old plenty of space to dodge and weave her way around some of the punches attempted. Not to mention, the fact that she was virtually playing to Holm’s strengths by trying to outbox her, instead she should have focused on her grappling, because that’s one of her strengths.
The first round, over. Five minutes of relentless energy from both athletes, but it was clear who’d won the round. The brief talk between coach and fighter at the corner was short-but-sweet, it seemed inevitable that Holm just needed to continue the way she’d began, and she’d end up victorious.
This was achieved less than a minute into the second round, as Rousey was caught with her back turned – Holly saw her opportunity and kissed Ronda sweet in the face with a left-high kick, which sent Rousey crashing down within a flash.
Gasps of shock were heard, screams, everything you could imagine. The champion, the queen was dethroned in such a surprising manner you’d think you were dreaming.
Blood plastered across Rousey’s face, lip, chin, she was down and out. Holm meanwhile, she celebrated as the realisation began to sink – she’d just beaten the world champion and ended her unbeaten streak.
Ronda was not available for comment after the match itself, as she was sent to the local hospital to get herself checked out after the injuries sustained, mainly to her split lip and head too, as she seemed momentarily dazed upon occasion.
Holly though, admitted she doesn’t feel as though she’s “made it” yet, despite the historic win. As quoted by Fox Sports, she said: “I don’t look at this belt and think that I’ve made it. I think I still have things that I need to do. I think a rematch, that’s kind of unspoken just common sense to me I guess.”
If a rematch is to take place, it is expected to be somewhere between May and July, possibly at UFC 200 – after Rousey completes her break from the sport as well as finishing the movie she stars in, having competed thrice in nine months.
UFC president Dana White, said that the rematch “makes a lot of sense”, and added that Ronda was “obviously completed bummed out and depressed, but that’s it”, after the 28-year-old left the arena for further medical treatment.
Holm afterwards, also said this: “I have to say, everything we worked on presented itself in the fight. I have not spent this much time in the gym before any fight in my life.”
| Ronda Rousey | Holly Holm |
| Knockdowns: 0 | Knockdowns: 1 |
| Total strikes: 21 | Total strikes: 38 |
| Strike percentage: 30% | Strike percentage: 72% |
| Significant strikes: 17 | Significant strikes: 38 |
| Takedowns: 0 | Takedowns: 1 |
| Match time: 5 minutes and 57 seconds | |
This defeat will come as a shock to plenty around the world, and is certain to rule the headlines in the coming days as the media and supporters alike come to terms with a surprising result – one that no-one admittedly expected, either. But, this is undoubtedly a setback in the road for Ronda: how will she react?
Mo and Sports 