Ronda Rousey lost to Holly Holm during the fight on Saturday night
Saturday night was the night Rousey took her first defeat and he Internet erupted. After a year of much success for Ronda Rousey, the bantamweight champion has grown to be one of the most recognized fighters in America. Her engaging fighting style has led her to an undefeated record and a confidence that seems to have begun to radiate out of her in all of her interviews. I am not one who talks bad about those who display confidence as long as they continuously back it up. She deserves her point of view. She has worked tirelessly at her craft and has been able to maneuver in a male dominated sport flawlessly up until this point so I personally cannot send any negativity her way. Now with that being said she has made numerous remarks about Floyd Mayweather that were distasteful which made me dislike her attitude due to my 20 year fan hood of Floyd. This weekend Rousey put her title on the line against her biggest threat to date Holly Holm out of New Mexico.
Rousey who has made a name of herself by dominating the competition almost Mike Tysonesque. She knocked out her last 2 opponents within the first 1 minute of those fights and seemed to be utterly unstoppable. This perception has grown her to become a house hold name also helped her in winning the ESPY for Fighter of the year earlier this year. She was prime to become the next big thing in UFC, if she wasn’t already. Now all of these accolades seem to come to her very quickly. Her 12-0 record is not one to look over but in reality she still needs to do a lot more work to solidify herself among the elite woman athletes that have blessed the Earth. She has been named with the likes of Laila Ali, Serena Williams and Cheryl Miller to name a few and in my opinion she has yet to make a big enough statement to claim that respect. As a Judo fighter she is cream of the crop but in the competitive realm her legacy is still being written so it is hard to say she will surpass or has surpassed any of those women.
Now that we have discussed Rousey and her legacy we can go into the reality that she is no longer Bantamweight champion after Saturday Night. This well-deserved bravado she has displayed came to a crashing stop against the quick and savvy Holly Holm. Holly who is a multiple time world champion seemed to be Rousey most prolific opponent to date and in the end proved to be the better fighter on Saturday. The irony of the fight is that Holly moved around sticking Rousey with quick straight left hands to the face keeping the tremendous grappling ability of Rousey as far away as possible. This strategy reminded me of the great Floyd Mayweather. She dominated Rousey in a match that ended 52 seconds into the 2nd round with Rousey being powerfully kicked in the neck, violently knocking her to the ground bouncing her head off of the canvas. Holm followed with 2 quick open shots to the face forcing the referee to end the fight awarding Holly Holm the Bantamweight championship and ending the undefeated run of Rousey.
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Holly Holm’s win is being named one of the biggest upsets in sports history but to me it was a win for a great fighter who outclassed a younger fighter. She took it to Rousey without fear unlike her other opponents and when the opportunity presented itself she didn’t miss and she was able to knock the champion out. A great win for Holm and I look forward to seeing how Rousey bounces back from her first taste of defeat. What I did learn about this weekend most of all, the same people who will cheer you on will turn around and make fun of you when you fall. Rousey is still a great fighter but Holm was better on Saturday night. Look forward to seeing her reign as champion. What did you think about the game? Leave a comment and let me know.