Holly Holm knocks out Ronda Rousey at UFC 193

Nissi Icasiano

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Holly Holm knocks out Ronda Rousey at UFC 193
Holly Holm shocks the mixed martial arts world by handing Ronda Rousey her first defeat

PREACHER'S DAUGHTER. Holly Holm lands a left kick to Ronda Rousey's face en route to the one-sided knockout win. Photo by Paul Crock/AFP

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Former boxing world champion Holly Holm overcame the odds to score a major upset by dethroning Ronda Rousey for the women’s bantamweight championship in the main event of UFC 193 on Sunday, November 15 at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. 

Holm made history by handing Rousey her first defeat in her professional mixed martial arts career as she knocked out the previously-unbeaten fighter with a left head kick and polished her off with follow up shots on the ground to compel referee Herb Dean to intervene at the :59 second mark of round two.

Holm, 34, is now 10-0 with 7 knockouts in her MMA career while Rousey, 28, drops to 12-1.

In arguably the biggest upset in the history of the sport, Holm fought the perfect fight as she set the tone by circling away from Rousey throughout the first round and countering with accuracy and power.

Holly Holm is the new UFC women's bantamweight champion. Photo by Paul Crock/AFP

Rousey kept on chasing Holm and managed to close in with her Judo wheelhouse, giving her an opening to lock her go-to armbar submission. 

As Holm shrugged off the hold and stood back, she was able to shift the momentum back on her side by delivering a crushing left cross and even mixing up standing elbow shots before scoring a surprising takedown.

“Everything that we worked on presented itself in the fight. I haven’t spent this much time in the gym in my life. Everything we worked on happened tonight,” Holm said in the post-fight interview.

Although Rousey returned to her corner after the first frame with a bloody lip and a swelling nose and mouth, her response was more pressure in the second round, where she was completely tagged with another left straight and a sidekick.

Rousey shot in for a punch, but Holm easily ducked under it as the champion fell to a knee. 

A swift high kick came next that dropped Rousey to the canvas in a semi-conscious state, prompting Holm to pounce with punches and hammerfists. 

“Getting in here, I had so much love and support. I felt like, how can I not do this with all that love. I had the best coaching, from standup to grappling to wrestling,” Holm stated. 

With the impressive triumph over Rousey, Holm becomes the second female bantamweight champion in UFC history and the first athlete to win world titles in MMA, boxing and kickboxing. 

“I don’t know, I’m trying to take it all in. This is crazy,” she said.

Jedrzejczyk retains UFC strawweight title against Letourneau

Joanna Jedrzejczyk (11-0) kept the UFC strawweight belt around her waist by outclassing Canadian combatant Valerie Letourneau (8-3) in the co-headliner of UFC 193. 

In other contests, Mark Hunt (11-10-1) settled the score with Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva (19-8-1) by thwarting his Brazilian rival in their heavyweight rematch. Jedrzejczyk successfully defended her gold-plated strap by picking up a unanimous decision victory with lopsided numbers of 49-46, 49-46 and 50-45. 

Hunt caught Silva with an overhand right to the temple before he pounded out his kneeling foe with a pair punishing punches to force referee John Sharp to wave it off at the 3:41 mark of the first round.

Australian middleweight Robert Whittaker had a triumphant homecoming bout by dominating “The Ultimate Fighter” alumnus Urijah Hall in three rounds to get an undivided nod from the judges with the scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.

Jared Rosholt (14-2) opened the pay-per-view main card by overwhelming long-limbed heavyweight Stefan Struve (26-8) with his takedowns in a three-round match. 

The 6-foot-2 Rosholt did not allow Struve to fully utilize his height and length advantage by converting three takedown to cruise to a unanimous decision win with three 29-28 marks across the panel. – Rappler.com

 

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