Nobody expected even in their wildest dreams that a former pro boxer would prevail over the greatest female MMA (mixed martial arts) fighter of the generation in a neutral territory. But that is exactly how things panned out on Sunday afternoon at a high-capacity Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, in the main event of UFC 193.
History was written as Holly Holm defeated Ronda Rousey in the second-round of their UFC Bantamweight title fight. The KO (knock-out) win by Holm has gone down as one of the greatest upsets in fight history, and the high shin kick from Holm that landed venomously on Rousey's neck has become the most-talked about move in MMA now.
The 34-year-old former American pro-boxer is definitely the talk of the town now as she accomplished something that none of the women's UFC stars back in the locker room could do in the last three years. And, it was just her third fight in the UFC.
"If I don't put all the effort right now, I'm not going to do it ever," Holm said after the fight, which took the world by storm and made #UFC193 the No. 1 trend on Twitter worldwide. The dedication, singling out certain days for armbar techniques, certain days for striking, and so on, did pay off for Holm in the biggest way possible.
Holm said that the hard work, and the belief kept her going during the fight. Also, she couldn't but mention the importance of trainers Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn, who played a massive role in grooming her as a cage fighter.
So now that she has captured the attention of the MMA universe, and with Rousey posting a late update about her condition and stating that "she will be back", is a rematch on the cards? The latest buzz is a rematch is possible.
"I don't wait for anything. If there are opportunities, I take it, and that's why I'm standing here [as the UFC bantamweight champion of the world]. If you never take the opportunities you are presented with, you're never going to go somehwere," Holm said. "So, whatever comes, comes [rematch], I'll take it."
Rousey had stated earlier, before the UFC 193, that she would 'disappear' from the octagon at least until UFC 200. "I would like to wait until UFC 200 to fight again. I'm going to be filming [movies] in the meantime, so I'm still going to be keeping busy," the 28-year-old was quoted by Rolling Stones.
Meanwhile, Rousey has been trolled at the highest level by her former opponent Miesha Tate and Cris Cyborg, who recently signed for the UFC. And if that was not all, Lady Gaga joined the duo in criticising Rousey as well, for not touching gloves with Holm at the start of the fight.
Ronda Rousey's latest update:
Full video of Holly Holm's UFC 193 backstage interview:
