After what is being called the “biggest upset in UFC history” happened at the main event of UFC 193, many analysts have been trying to explain what happened in Melbourne, last Saturday evening.
How come Holly Holm was so dominating against Ronda Rousey?
Click on the links to read the full articles from each of the quoted analysts.
The first aspect of Holm’s performance was the mindset.
“Holm had an unwavering belief in her preparation and training – and it showed – as she stayed calm no matter where the fight went. In the clinch, on the ground – Holm even pulled off a takedown against Rousey – Holm dictated the pace of the fight and let Rousey be the aggressor.” wrote Matt Parrino on UFC.com.
To some, the fight was nothing more than a Boxing vs. MMA affair.
“Not only did Holm make Rousey look utterly foolish with her boxing from the get-go, but she had the gall to take Rousey down at the end of the 1st round. The final insult from the boxer was to finish Rousey with a head kick, which is completely illegal in boxing and would’ve resulted in a DQ loss. Game, set, and match. Holm has proven to everyone that any high-level boxer who seriously commits to training in MMA will become a championship caliber fighter in MMA. If a high-level MMA fighter were to commit to pro boxing and face elite opposition, they would not have the same level of success. There’s a greater chance of Wladimir Klitschko beating Junior dos Santos in MMA than JDS beating Wlad in boxing.” wrote Mookie Alexander on Bloody Elbow.
To others, Holm was just too much for Rousey to handle
“A perfectly executed game plan was all it took to humanize Rousey, who was on the cusp of entering the pantheon of all-time sports greats, (…) When the time came to unload, she did. Holm was brilliant. She was everything people thought she was not — poised, opportunistic, superior. That head kick will last forever.” wrote Chuck Mindenhall on MMA Fighting.
The importance of Holm’s camp was also stressed:
“However, like you see in every sport, when one person or team puts some distance between themselves and the peloton, it doesn’t take those left behind a long time to figure out what they’re doing to gain a decisive advantage. Enter Mike Winkeljohn and Greg Jackson, two of the sports best coaches who have collaboratively prepared many a mixed martial artist for what was supposed to be an unwinnable fight. They took Holm and gave her a game plan that had been carefully constructed to take away the safe areas of the fight for Rousey — taking away her “teddy bear” as Jackson put it after the fight. Holm forced her into positions where she wasn’t comfortable, and that gave her the ability to utilize her world-class striking arsenal.” wrote Greg Savage at Sherdog.com.
On the other side, Rousey’s apparently poorly executed camp was also a factor:
“Rousey fought a stupid fight and the fact that her coach, Edmond Tarverdyan, told her it was “beautiful” when she walked back to the corner, her mouth busted up and full of blood, after the first round is the epitome of what went wrong for the now former champion in this fight, likely in this camp and over the last couple years. A bronze medal-winning judoka who started her career tapping out foes in under 60 seconds believed she could stand with a multiple time world champion boxer – one who had a size and reach advantage and fights southpaw, which is always another awkward thing to deal with. It was a game plan built from this belief that Rousey had suddenly become world-class boxer because she clipped Alexis Davis and knocked out Bethe Correia, neither of whom had remotely the skills Holm brought to the table.” wrote E. Spencer Kyte on The Province.
What about you, do you have a take on why Holm beat Rousey in such a devastating fashion?
