Ronda Rousey || Knockout || Loss At UFC 193 || Holly Holm's
- 8 years ago
Ronda Rousey Reacts To Holly Holm Knockout Loss At UFC 193
Holly Holm's knockout of Ronda Rousey is the biggest upset in UFC history
r the past year or so, UFC president Dana White has pushed that Ronda Rousey was the female Mike Tyson.
And there were plenty of similarities. Both were known for quick and decisive wins, and the belief that many of their opponents were intimidated and had mentally lost before the match started. The other similarity in quick one-sided wins were the questions on whether the audience would tire of buying the pay-per-views because they didn't get long enough entertainment time for the price. But in both cases, the quicker wins just led to pay-per-view numbers rising.
You can add another similarity to the list. They both went into foreign countries -- Tyson to Japan a quarter-century ago, Rousey to Australia -- and faced a contender considered by many to be unworthy, in a match considered going in almost a one-sided joke.
The term Buster Douglas became a part of pop culture on Feb. 11, 1990 when, as a 42-to-1 underdog, he knocked out Tyson to win the world heavyweight boxing title at the Tokyo Dome. At the time, Tyson was thought by the public to be invincible, similar to how many viewed Rousey prior to Saturday.
Holly Holm on Saturday night became this generation's Buster Douglas, but hopes not to end up that way. Douglas ended up being known for his one big night and nothing else. He dropped the title to Evander Holyfield via third-round knockout on Oct. 25, 1990, in his first title defense. He never had another win over a major name fighter the rest of his career. The loss didn't ruin Tyson at all, who remained a gigantic pay-per-view draw until 2002.
Holm's win will go down as not just the biggest upset in UFC history, but probably as its most memorable fight in its 22-year history. Rousey had become the biggest celebrity ever created by UFC. She was the first UFC fighter to not just transcend the
sport, but to transcend sports. She was a symbolic generational hero for many women, and parlayed UFC to major movie roles and endorsements that no other fighter has ever been able to attain.
On a night with college football, the title change, for the first time ever, was covered as the biggest sports story of the night, and will likely be nominated as one of the biggest sports upsets of the year if not, the generation.
Before the fight, the questions asked weren't if Holm would win, but if she could last one minute before losing.
Yet the fight itself made everyone thinking the fight would be another so fast you can't blink finish by Rousey look foolish. Stylistically, Holm made it look like everyone was a fool to think anything other than what happened should have happened. It wasn't just an upset, it was as one-sided as a champion matador facing a mindless bull. And at times, the fight actually looked close to a bullfight.
The irony is that days before the fight, the odds on Rousey winning had risen to 22-to-1, the most one-sided for a title fight in UFC history. But after weigh-ins, when Rousey and Holm nearly got into it, there was a flood of late betting on the challenger, although the odds never fell below 10-to-1 for Rousey (Holm's winning by the end paid as low at +750 because of all the late betting) in most Las Vegas locations.
In most cases, the betting was likely not people expecting Holm to win, just thinking that in a fight, there is always the chance of a fluke and the odds were so long it was worth the risk.
And the fight looked nothing like a fluke.
In the modern UFC, the two biggest upsets were the April 7, 2007, UFC welterweight title win by Matt Serra over Georges St-Pierre, and the May 24, 2014, bantamweight title win by T.J. Dillashaw over Renan Barao. Both had odds of 8-to-1 in favor of the defending champion.
With St-Pierre vs. Serra, Serra caught St-Pierre with a big punch early and St-Pierre never recovered, taking more shots until starting to tap just as it was stopped in the first round. But St-Pierre won a one-sided rematch a year later. With hindsight, St-Pierre said that he fell victim to pressure, and the reality is, in a fight with a big puncher, there is always the chance of the punch landing right. But it was really just a big punch landing and the second fight was nothing like the first.
Dillashaw vs. Barao was a different story. That fight was a combination of people greatly underestimating Dillashaw, and overestimating Barao. Dillashaw only got the title shot because Raphael Assuncao, who had beaten him in a close fight, was injured. Barao had gone 33 fights and nine years since his only career loss, and there was talk of him as the best all-around fighter in the sport.
But that fight was no fluke or lucky punch. Dillashaw controlled the entire fight before getting a fifth-round finish. Then, he proved it a second time, in even more devastating fashion, winning the rematch this past July 25th, in just as one-sided a fight
Holly Holm's knockout of Ronda Rousey is the biggest upset in UFC history
r the past year or so, UFC president Dana White has pushed that Ronda Rousey was the female Mike Tyson.
And there were plenty of similarities. Both were known for quick and decisive wins, and the belief that many of their opponents were intimidated and had mentally lost before the match started. The other similarity in quick one-sided wins were the questions on whether the audience would tire of buying the pay-per-views because they didn't get long enough entertainment time for the price. But in both cases, the quicker wins just led to pay-per-view numbers rising.
You can add another similarity to the list. They both went into foreign countries -- Tyson to Japan a quarter-century ago, Rousey to Australia -- and faced a contender considered by many to be unworthy, in a match considered going in almost a one-sided joke.
The term Buster Douglas became a part of pop culture on Feb. 11, 1990 when, as a 42-to-1 underdog, he knocked out Tyson to win the world heavyweight boxing title at the Tokyo Dome. At the time, Tyson was thought by the public to be invincible, similar to how many viewed Rousey prior to Saturday.
Holly Holm on Saturday night became this generation's Buster Douglas, but hopes not to end up that way. Douglas ended up being known for his one big night and nothing else. He dropped the title to Evander Holyfield via third-round knockout on Oct. 25, 1990, in his first title defense. He never had another win over a major name fighter the rest of his career. The loss didn't ruin Tyson at all, who remained a gigantic pay-per-view draw until 2002.
Holm's win will go down as not just the biggest upset in UFC history, but probably as its most memorable fight in its 22-year history. Rousey had become the biggest celebrity ever created by UFC. She was the first UFC fighter to not just transcend the
sport, but to transcend sports. She was a symbolic generational hero for many women, and parlayed UFC to major movie roles and endorsements that no other fighter has ever been able to attain.
On a night with college football, the title change, for the first time ever, was covered as the biggest sports story of the night, and will likely be nominated as one of the biggest sports upsets of the year if not, the generation.
Before the fight, the questions asked weren't if Holm would win, but if she could last one minute before losing.
Yet the fight itself made everyone thinking the fight would be another so fast you can't blink finish by Rousey look foolish. Stylistically, Holm made it look like everyone was a fool to think anything other than what happened should have happened. It wasn't just an upset, it was as one-sided as a champion matador facing a mindless bull. And at times, the fight actually looked close to a bullfight.
The irony is that days before the fight, the odds on Rousey winning had risen to 22-to-1, the most one-sided for a title fight in UFC history. But after weigh-ins, when Rousey and Holm nearly got into it, there was a flood of late betting on the challenger, although the odds never fell below 10-to-1 for Rousey (Holm's winning by the end paid as low at +750 because of all the late betting) in most Las Vegas locations.
In most cases, the betting was likely not people expecting Holm to win, just thinking that in a fight, there is always the chance of a fluke and the odds were so long it was worth the risk.
And the fight looked nothing like a fluke.
In the modern UFC, the two biggest upsets were the April 7, 2007, UFC welterweight title win by Matt Serra over Georges St-Pierre, and the May 24, 2014, bantamweight title win by T.J. Dillashaw over Renan Barao. Both had odds of 8-to-1 in favor of the defending champion.
With St-Pierre vs. Serra, Serra caught St-Pierre with a big punch early and St-Pierre never recovered, taking more shots until starting to tap just as it was stopped in the first round. But St-Pierre won a one-sided rematch a year later. With hindsight, St-Pierre said that he fell victim to pressure, and the reality is, in a fight with a big puncher, there is always the chance of the punch landing right. But it was really just a big punch landing and the second fight was nothing like the first.
Dillashaw vs. Barao was a different story. That fight was a combination of people greatly underestimating Dillashaw, and overestimating Barao. Dillashaw only got the title shot because Raphael Assuncao, who had beaten him in a close fight, was injured. Barao had gone 33 fights and nine years since his only career loss, and there was talk of him as the best all-around fighter in the sport.
But that fight was no fluke or lucky punch. Dillashaw controlled the entire fight before getting a fifth-round finish. Then, he proved it a second time, in even more devastating fashion, winning the rematch this past July 25th, in just as one-sided a fight