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MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Miesha Tate has ended Holly Holm’s reign as UFC bantamweight champion in the first defense.
Tate (18-5, 3 knockouts) submitted Holm by rear-naked choke at 3:30 of round 5 in their championship fight at UFC 196 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sunday, March 6.
Holm, a former boxing champion, shocked the mixed martial arts world when she handed Ronda Rousey her first defeat by second round knockout in November.
Down 38-37 on all 3 scorecards entering the fifth frame, Tate was able to latch herself to Holm’s body and quickly grabbed a rear view of her opponent.
Picture: Miesha Tate-Holly Holm Scorecard from UFC 196 https://t.co/xmpTMN98oJ #UFC196 pic.twitter.com/RUFNkHGJeL
— Sherdog.com (@sherdogdotcom) March 6, 2016
Wearing Tate as a backpack, Holm was defenseless as she allowed Tate to sneakily slip her arm under the chin for a rear-naked choke.
Holm tried to shrug off the challenger in a final act of desperation, but the former boxer failed miserably as she went to sleep facing upwards.
“She’s very dangerous. She’s capable of catching anyone at any moment. She’s a calculated fighter. I thought I had to be like a pitbull with a bone. I knew she wasn’t getting out of that one,” Tate said of Holm in the post-fight interview.
Tate nearly finished it in the second stanza, where she secured a takedown inside the first minute and smashed Holm with elbows and forearm strikes before advancing to the back.
However, Holm managed to hit Tate with straight lefts and body kicks without exposing herself to unnecessary counter attacks for the majority of the scheduled 5-round contest.
With Tate looking to put the fight on the mat, Holm peppered her foe with sidekicks to the body, oblique kicks to the thigh, and stinging punching combinations.
According to FightMetric statistics, Holm landed 68 percent of her significant strikes as compared to Tate’s 65 percent.
However, Tate completed a stunning comeback to walk away with the UFC women’s bantamweight belt around her waist.
With the impressive victory over Holm, Tate improves to an 18-5 record and is now riding high on a 5-fight winning streak.
On the other hand, Holm loses for the first time after being undefeated in her last 10 bouts as a mixed martial arts competitor. – Rappler.com
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