Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez, Dave Meltzer and UFC star Filthy Tom Lawlor returns tonight to talk HISTORY — the doom of Ronda Rousey in the biggest upset in UFC history at the hands and feet of Holly Holm. Full results of the show, analysis of Rousey’s performance and future, plus pro-wrestling news on Lucha Underground’s tapings, Billy Gunn’s drug test failure, Raw Monday night and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
One of the UFC’s top stars and draws was a massive favorite going into her fight at UFC 193 Saturday night, but got outclassed and dominated. Ronda Rousey is no longer undefeated and is no longer the women’s bantamweight champion, beaten soundly by Holly Holm via 2nd round TKO in Australia.
The 28-year-old Rousey (12-1) didn’t look like the fighter that had become a mainstream media star over the past few years, chasing Holm, getting outstruck and bloodied in the first round by Holm who looked composed and in the moment. The end came in the second round when Holm further bloodied Rousey with punches, and landed a kick that landed on Rousey’s neck dropping the champion cold. Holm then landed a few ground and pound shots, Rousey was unconscious, and ref Herb Dean had no choice but to call the fight. Rousey didn’t speak to Joe Rogan after the fight.
The 34-year-old Holm (10-0) now finds herself on top of the mountain of MMA history as the first woman to beat Ronda Rousey. Forget Cyborg Santos: your UFC 200 main event or co-main event might have just been booked.
Dave Meltzer & Bryan Alvarez will have more on this outcome and the entire UFC 193 show on tonight’s Wrestling Observer Radio.
Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm from the Ethiad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. The event is headlined by UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey putting her championship, and status as the most dominant female fighter on the planet, on the line against undefeated challenger Holly Holm. In the co-main event, it is a second womens’ title fight as UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk defends against Valerie Letourneau. The action kicks off with preliminary card fights at 6:15 PM eastern time on UFC Fight Pass. The action moves over to FS1 at 8 PM eastern time with additional preliminary fights before the main card kicks off at 10 PM eastern time on pay-per-view. We are looking for your thoughts on the show, so send a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle as well as a best fight and worst fight to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.
UFC 193 Weigh-In Results
UFC 193 5 Storylines To Watch
UFC 193 DFS Playbook
UFC 193 By The Numbers
UFC 193 Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm: Our picks & preview
Coverage provided by Dave Meltzer
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 6:15 PM ET/3:15 PM PT)
FLYWEIGHTS- BEN NGUYEN (13-5, 1-0 UFC) VS. RYAN BENOIT (8-3, 1-1 UFC)
First round: This isn’t an early arriving crowd at all. Real noticeable in such a huge stadium. Nguyen is from Australia so he’s the crowd favorite. Nguyen hurt him with a left and right and took him down. Now he’s in full mount. Benoit gave up his back. He’s got him flattened out near the cage. He’s now working for a choke. Benoit is protecting his neck. Nguyen landing punches now. He flattened him out again and working for a choke Benoit tapped out.
WELTERWEIGHTS- JAMES MOONTASRI (8-3, 1-2 UFC) VS. ANTON ZAFIR (7-1, 0-0 UFC)
First round: Hard body kick by Moontasri. Good right by Zafir. He went for a takedown but couldn’t get it. Takedown by Zafir. Zafir with punches and a knee to the body. Moontasri back up. Moontasri briefly tried a guillotine. Moontasri moved away. High kick by Moontasri. Front kick by Zafir Spinning backfist by Moontasri put Zafir down and finished him with punches on the ground. It was a spinning back kick to the ribs and then the spinning backfist. Zafir said his ribs were broken.
WELTERWEIGHTS- RICHARD WALSH (8-3, 1-2 UFC) VS. STEVE KENNEDY (22-7, 0-1 UFC)
First round: Walsh from Sydney is the big babyface here. Walsh with low kicks. Kennedy’s leg is about to give out. Walsh landing a lot of punches. Kennedy’s left leg is all bruised up. Kennedy got a takedown and got his back. Walsh back up. Kennedy took him down again. Kennedy is working for a choke. Kennedy now working for a Kimura. Hard round to score 10-9 Walsh.
Second round: Crowd super hot at the start of round two. Walsh landing punches. Kennedy went for a takedown but Walsh landed on top after sprawling. Walsh backed off and wanted him to stand. Good right by Walsh. Kennedy failed another takedown. Kennedy tried a triangle but lost him. Walsh blocked another takedown and Walsh on top landing punches. Walsh landing a lot of punches from the top. Walsh backed off and Kennedy had to get up. Takedown by Kennedy. He’s staying on top. 20-18 Walsh but first round could go the other way.
Third round: Body kick by Kennedy. Walsh with a left. Walsh landing punches and on top. Walsh has his back. Walsh let him up and landed a punch. Kennedy staying on his back. The ref ordered Kennedy to stand. Nice uppercut by Kennedy. Kennedy laid on his back again. Walsh punching and kicking the the left leg Walsh landing punches. Walsh landed a right on the ground. Walsh with a few more punches on the ground. Walsh 30-27, although 29-28 would be okay, but Walsh easily took this
Scores: 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 for Walsh.
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- DAN KELLY (9-1, 2-1 UFC) VS. STEVE MONTGOMERY (8-3, 0-1 UFC)
First round: Kelly the hometown hero but he’s 38 years old. Nice left by Kelly. Knee by Montgomery to the body. Body kick by Montgomeruy. Big left by Kelly. Kelly landing a lot of punches from close range. Judo takedown by Kelly and he’s landing elbows. Kelly landing punches on the ground. Montgomery back up. Another judo hip toss by Kelly. Kelly landing more punches on the ground. Kelly thinkng a choke. Elbow on the ground by Kelly. Another takedown by Kelly. Kelly 10-9.
Second round: Montgomery landing punches but Kelly got a clinch. Kelly didn’t get the takedown and an elbow by Montgomery. Good left by Montgomery. Both trading punches. Knees by Montgomery from close range. Left by Montgomery. Knee by Montgomery from the clinch. Judo whip by Kelly. Kelly working for a guillotine. Now he’s looking for a D’arce choke. Montgomery back up. Left by Kelly. Another left by Kelly. High kick by Montgomery. Knee by Montgomery. Montgomery landing punches. Uppercut by Montgomery. Kelly is clearly tired. Punches by Montgomery. Knee by Montgomery. Kelly missed a throw. Another knee by Montgomery. Montgomery’s round so 19-19 going into the thrid.
Third round: Knee by Montgomery. Accidental low knee by Montgomery. Left by Montgomery. Montgomery landing all kinds of jabs. Kelly got a clinch. Kelly went for a takedown but Montgomery blocked it. Montgomery landing but Kelly with a good left. Body kick by Montgomery. Another left by Kelly. Kelly got a clinch but Montgomery escaped. Montgomery with jabs. Kelly with a left. Body kick by Montgomery and more punches. Big left by Kelly, Good low kick by Montgomery. Another left by Kelly. Big left by Kelly. Knees by Kelly. Kelly threw him down That may have won him the fight. Kelly has his back. Kelly working for a choke but doesn’t have it. Kelly bleeding. Kelly spun to side mount and into full mount. Kelly landing punches from the top and Kennedy moved. Kelly working for a head and arm choke. He doesn’t have it. Time is running out. But that won him the fight. Good fight. Kelly 29-28.
Scores: All three have it 29-28 Kelly
PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)
FLYWEIGHTS- RICHIE VACULIK (10-3, 1-2 UFC) VS. DANNY MARTINEZ (16-7, 0-3 UFC)
First round: Martinez throwing punches. Vaculik fought at 155 on TUF and is now fighting at 125. Takedown by Martinez. Elbow by Martinez. Both swinging. Martinez landing punches. Vaculik with a takedown. Martinez escaped. Martinez 10-9.
Second round: Martinez landing punches early. Takedown by Maritnez. Martinez has him against the fence. Martinez dropped him He landed a knee and hard punches. Hard left by Martinez. Takedown by Vaculik and he’s got his back. Martinez reversed to the top. Takedown by Martinez. Martinez landing some punches from the top. 20-18 Martinez.
Third round: Takedown by Vaculik. Takedown by Martinez. Knee by Martinez as Vaculik got up. Vaculik started landking but Martinez took him out again. Another takedown by Martinez. Martinez with punches. Martinez with punches on the ground. Vaculik got up.
Scores: 30-27 across the board for Martinez.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS- ANTHONY PEROSH (15-9, 5-6 UFC) VS. GIAN VILLANTE (13-6, 3-3 UFC)
First round: Villante hurt him with a right. High kick by Villante. Villante is a lot more patient than in the past after the Tom Lawlor fight. Villante with right. Good uppercut by Villante. Perosh is wobbly. Body kick by Villante. Left by Villante. Perosh with a right. Villante knocked him out with a right to the jaw.
WELTERWEIGHTS- KYLE NOKE (21-7-1, 5-3 UFC) VS. PETER SOBOTTA (15-4-1, 2-3 UFC)
First round: Noke is from Australia, one of their veteran stars. Sobotta landing punches. Noke landed a great kick to the body and Sobotta collapsed. That was a perfect sick kick. Noke is landing punches on the ground. And it’s over. It was a front kick right to the ribs.
LIGHTWEIGHTS- JAKE MATTHEWS (8-1, 2-1 UFC) VS. AKBARH ARREOLA (23-9-1, 1-2 UFC)
First round: Left by Arreola. Right by Arreola. Left by Arreola. Matthews with punches in the clinch. Arreola tripped him up and landed a good left. Arreola hurt him. He dropped him with a head kick and now has his back He’s working for a choke. More punches by Arreola and he’s again working for a choke. He’s again working for a choke. Matthew escaped and got on top and Mathew pouding the hell out of him Matthews with elbows. Hard round to judge. 10-9 Arreola
Second round: Matthews with a body kick. Takedown by Matthews. Matthews with elbows from the top. Matthews with more elbows and Arreola bleeding. Matthew swith a hard punches and elbows. Now body shots by Matthews. 10-8 round for Matthews so up 19-18.
Third round: The doctor stopped the fight because the cut so Matthews won. The cut over the right eye was pretty deep and was swelling really badly. Arreola was really upset by it.
MAIN CARD (PPV- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT)
HEAVYWEIGHTS- (#14) STEFAN STRUVE (26-7, 10-5 UFC) VS. JARED ROSHOLT (13-2, 5-1 UFC)
First round: Rosholt landed a right. Rosholt with a low kick. Fans booing the lack of action. Rosholt got the takedown. He’s in side control. Fans booing. Rosholt back on top. He moved to side control. Struve kicked him off but Rosholt back on top. Rosholt 10-9. Crowd booing.
Second round: Struve’s s left leg is all bruised up. Rosholt landed a right. Rosholt moved in to try and takedown. Rosholt got the takedown. He got up but Rosholt dragged him down. Rosholt in side control. Struve throwing nasty elbows late in the round with both on their back. Rosholt 20-18.
Third round: Low kick by Struve. Struve landed a left. Right by Struve. Another right by Struve. Low kick by Struve. Rosholt tried for a takedown but Struve blocked it. Rosholt moved in for another takedown. Head kick by Struve. Front kick by Struve. Right and left by Struve. Struve landed a few punches but Rosholt took him down and moved into side control. Struve up and Rosholt shoved him into the fence. Rosholt running away. Struve took him down. Struve landed elbows. Crowd booing. Struve won the round but Rosholt should have it 29-28.
Scores: All three have it 29-28 Rosholt
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- (#10) URIAH HALL (12-5, 5-3 UFC) VS. (#14) ROBERT WHITTAKER (14-4, 5-2 UFC)
First round: Whittaker came out aggressive. Hard right by Whittaker. High kick by Hall. Body kick and left by Hall. Low kick by Whittaker. Hall went for some Ricochet double spin kick and Whittaker took him down. Left and right from the top by Whittaker. Whittaker got mount but Hall kicked him off. Whittaker landing punches from the top. Whittaker has his back. Hall reversed to the top. 10-9 Whittaker.
Second round: Whittaker rocked him with a right. Whittaker got behind him and stomped his foot. Hall got lucky. He got punched in the eye but the ref called it an eye poke so he got off the hook. Right by Whtitaker. Whittaker bleeding from the nose. Whittaker landed a nice left. Whittaker 20-18.
Third round: Hall out aggressively but Whittaker landing punches that hurt Hall. Whittaker stomping his foot. Hall landed a head kick. Flying knee and another head kick by Hall. Hall with knees the body. Hall coming back. Whittaker just trying to tie him up. Great front kick and head kick by Hall. Whittaker landed a left. Left by Whittaker. Nice right by Whittaker. Hall with a right. Whttaker with a body kick and punch. Whittaker got behind him. Whattaker took him down. Hall’s round so Whittaker 29-28. Really fun fight.
Scores: 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 Whittaker
HEAVYWEIGHTS- (#8) MARK HUNT (10-10-1, 5-4-1 UFC) VS. (#11) ANTONIO SILVA (19-7-1, 3-4-1 UFC)
First round: Low kick by Hunt. They exchanged punches. Hunt with a low kick. Hard body kick by Hunt. Knee by Silva. Another low kick by Hunt. Hunt dropped him and it’s over.
UFC WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP- (C) JOANNA JEDRZEJCZYK (10-0, 4-0 UFC) VS. (#8) VALERIE LETOURNEAU (8-3, 3-0 UFC)
First round: Letourneau punched her and got her down and punching on the ground. Joanna back up. Both throwing knees. Great kick to the face by Joanna which turned Letourneau around. Exchanging punches. Letourneou with high kick. Letourneau 10-9.
Second round: Both exchanging punches. Low kick by Joanna. Joanna threw a kick but Letrouneau caught the leg. Letourneau pushed her against the cage. Elbows by Joanna. Exchanges. Letourneau landed the best shot. Letourneua landed a few. Joanna with a right. Joanna with a series of punches. Joanna’s round close 19-19.
Third round: Nice front kick by Joanna. Joanna with a low kick. Joanna now landing a lot. Letourneau looks tired now. Joanna landing a lot now. Letourneau’s face is all bruised up. Joanna’s round she’s up 29-28.
Fourth round: Good right by Joanna. Front kick by Joanna. She went for another one but Letourneau caught the leg. Both trading shots. Joanna busting her up now. Joanna landing kicks and punches. The crowd is starting to boo now. Letourneau landed some punches. Front kick by Joanna. Joanna landed a lot of punches late in the round. 39-37 Joanna.
Fifth round: Joanna has thrown more than 200 strikes. Body kick by Letourneau. Joanna is too quick at this point. Low kicks by Joanna. Letourneau’s left leg is all red. Low kick and rihg by Joanna. Joanna landing a lot of punches. Letourneau back with a punch. Joanna messed up her left eye and left leg. Very good fight. 49-46 Joanna. Joanna landed 258 total strikes in the fight.
Scores: 49-46, 49-46 and 50-45 for Joanna.
UFC WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP- (C) RONDA ROUSEY (12-0, 6-0 UFC) VS. (#7) HOLLY HOLM (9-0, 2-0 UFC)
First round: Ronda wouldn’t touch gloves. Holm landed a left. Left by Holm. Right by Holm. Ronda landed with a right. Ronda locked up with her. It’s turning into a kickboxing match. Right by Holm. Right by Holm. Ronda locked her up. Rousey got her down. Holm escaped the armbar. Holm kicking the knee and dancing away. Left by Holm. Big left by Holm. Hard left by Holm. Anothrer left by Holm Ronda with a left. Holm took her down. Crazy. Back in a clich. Holm 10-9.
Second round: Ronda is tired and her nose is all bloody. More lefts by Holm. Side kick by Holm. Rousey missed a punch and fell down. Left head kick by Holm knocked Rousey down and she’s in trouble. Punches on the ground and it’s over. Wow. :59
In case you missed it, UFC lightweight Michael Chiesa dropped by the set of Josh Nason’s Punch-Out this week to help analyze UFC 193, talk about his December fight against Jim Miller, and shoot the breeze in general. It’s free for everyone, so give it a listen here and tell your damn friends.
Our panel:
– Jack Encarnacao (95-37 | .719): Sherdog Rewind host, The Lapsed Fan podcast co-chair
– Steve Juon (90-42 | .681): AngryMarks founder, MMA Mania writer
– Mike Sempervive (86-46 | .651): Wrestling Observer Live & Big Audio Nightmare co-host
– John Pollock (86-46 | .651): Fight Network personality, Live Audio Wrestling co-host, The MMA Report host
– David Bixenspan (85-47 | .643): Figure Four Weekly writer, Observer Daily Update writer, podcast host
– Dave Meltzer (82-50 | .621): Wrestling Observer founder & writer
– Front Row Brian (82-50 | .621): MMA newsbreaker, Twitter personality, podcast host
– Mike Sawyer (79-53 | .598): Tough Talk MMA, 2014 picks panel champion
– Josh Nason (78-54 | .590): Wrestling Observer digital media and content guy, WON Twitter enabler
*****
> Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey (12-0) vs. Holly Holm (9-0)
Lots of alliteration going on for this main event, eh? Assuming Rousey decimates Holm, the only fight that makes sense is Lady Cyborg. That’s it, that’s all. No other women in the division is going to test Rousey like Cyborg could in July, and ultimately, that’s what we need. She’s the equivalent of Anthony Davis sent back to the 1945 version of the NBA — so far ahead of her time that no one can stop her.
How the public will take to this fight is interesting. Holm has done nothing to promote other than get a fist up in Rousey’s face during Friday’s weigh-ins that Rousey sold like she was training for another WWE appearance. Legit or showmanship? Given the buzz this week, you can figure that out just as well as I can.
Will the mainstream/casual Rousey fan plunk down the money to watch or will they just wait to hopefully see the fight on Instagram like many got conditioned to do this year? The UFC is worried about that, proactively sending out a notice to media members about not sharing any GIFs or videos of the event, missing that it’s the general social media loving DGAF public that should be the focus of their proactive approach.
I’m more excited for what happens after the fight than the battle itself which I think will wrap up in less than a round. Holm is unbeaten and a former boxing champion in an era long ago, but she’s getting the shot due to a lack of options rather than a truly earned opportunity.
Rousey (mega favorite): Nason, Bix, Sempervive, Sawyer, Meltzer, Pollock, Encarnacao, Juon, FRB
> Women’s Strawweight Champion Joanna Champion “Double J” Jędrzejczyk (10-0) vs. Valerie Letourneau (8-3)
To say the weigh-ins for these two was awkward to watch Friday is an understatement. Seeing nearly emaciated 115-pound women step on the scales isn’t my idea of a fun time.
To the fight itself, Letourneau represents a speed bump on the way to Double J’s eventual title defense with Claudia Gadelha. After two straight decision to open her UFC ledger, Jędrzejczyk has two straight wins by T/KO, two straight bonuses, and a piece of shiny metal and leather around her waist. How the 28-year-old resonates with the mainstream Rousey crowd will be something to watch in the months ahead.
The 32-year-old Letourneau has won all three of her UFC fights by decision, and with all three of her career losses comes against more well-known fighters (Sarah Kaufman, Gadelha, Alexis Davis). She can’t see the image of Jessica Penne’s bloodied face before she steps in the cage, even though the oddsmakers seem to think a similar fate awaits the Canadian.
JJ (mega favorite): Nason, Bix, Sempervive, Sawyer, Meltzer, Pollock, Encarnacao, Juon, FRB
> Mark Hunt (10-10-1) vs. Bigfoot Silva (19-7-1) II
Heavyweights
Rematches of classics rarely, if ever, live up to the hype of the predecessor. With heavyweights, there’s a little more of a chance because if someone gets knocked out, you at least have that to point to. Can Hunt and Silva give us anything close to what they had on that night 2 years and one month ago? Doubtful.
The 41-year-old Hunt is just 1-3-1 since a four-fight win streak brought him to Junior dos Santos’ violent doorstep in 2013. In all three losses, he’s been knocked out by JDS, now-heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum, and Stipe Miocic. Any fight could be his last and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Hunt hangs them up after tonight.
Strangely, Silva is also 1-3-1 in his last four after a two-fight win streak brought him to a title shot against then-champion Cain Velasquez. We all know what happened there. In his losses, he was also knocked out all three times (Velasquez, Frank Mir, Andrei Arlovski). He could also retire at any time. What time to be a UFC heavyweight!
Hunt (favorite): Bix, Sempervive, Sawyer, Meltzer, Pollock, Encarnacao, FRB, Juon, Nason
> Robert Whittaker (14-4) vs. Uriah Hall (12-5)
Middleweights
The fight that Mike Chiesa is looking forward to this most is an interesting scrap between two middleweight prospects. Hall is fresh off his short-notice fill-in fight against Gegard Mousasi, one he won in, ahem, SPECTACULAR FASHION. We all still want to understand what Hall we have now (vicious striker vs. passive decision-maker), and if he wins via a T/KO finish for the third straight time, we might have our answer.
This is already the eighth UFC fight for the 24-year-old Whittaker and since he decided to stop cutting to 170, he’s won two in a row by T/KO and three straight overall. Brad Tavares was his last victim, knocked out in just 44 seconds earlier this year.
If this fight is boring, I’ll cry for a week.
Whittaker: Nason, Bix, Meltzer, Pollock, Encarnacao
Hall (favorite): Sempervive, Sawyer, Juon, FRB
> Stefan Struve (26-7) vs. Jared Rosholt (13-2)
Heavyweights
Struve kept his UFC career alive with a decision win over the now-retired Rodrigo Nogueira in August. Before a heart issue and a two-fight losing streak (Mark Hunt, Alistair Overeem) derailed Struve, Double-S had won four straight in 2011-12 and was moving into title contender category. He’s still just 27 which is truly insane.
This is the biggest fight of the 29-year-old Rosholt’s career. A winner in five of his six Octagon tilts, his biggest enemy has been apathy over those wins due to bland, wrestling-filled decisions. This is an interesting fight for both guys as Struve hasn’t fought a wrestler like Rosholt in years, if ever.
Struve (slight favorite): Nason, Sawyer, Meltzer, Pollock, Encarnacao, Juon
Rosholt: Bix, Sempervive, FRB
*****
UFC 193 related content:
An injury has forced another change to the UFC’s upcoming debut in South Korea, this time affecting the headline bout.
A rib injury has forced former welterweight title challenger Thiago Alves (21-10, 13-7 UFC) out of his scheduled five-round main event bout against Benson Henderson (22-5, 10-3 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 79 in Seoul. Henderson, the former UFC Lightweight Champion, will now take on Jorge Masvidal (29-9, 6-2 UFC) in the new headliner. MMAFighting.com first reported Masvidal as the replacement after Twitter user @TalkMMA reported the injury to Alves.
The change in the main event comes just days following the cancellation of the co-main event between Mirko Cro Cop and Anthony Hamilton. That bout was scrapped after Cro Cop was pulled from the fight due to a potential drug test failure and subsequent retirement. Masvidal was originally slated to meet Dong Hyun Kim in the new co-main event, but was selected as the replacement for Alves. There has yet to be an announcement on Kim’s status for the event.
Henderson and Masvidal were scheduled to meet earlier this year at UFC Fight Night 63 in April when both were competing in the lightweight division. Henderson then took a short-notice bout at welterweight against Brandon Thatch at UFC Fight Night 60 in February, which he won by fourth-round submission. Henderson hasn’t fought since then. Masvidal went on to fight Al Iaqunta at the April event, but lost by close split decision. However, he is coming off a win over Cezar Ferreira at The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale in July, his welterweight debut in the UFC.
UFC Fight Night 79 will air on UFC Fight Pass on November 28, with a main card start time of 8 AM eastern time, and a preliminary card start time of 4:45 AM eastern time. Also on the card is the return of Yoshihiro Akiyama, who takes on Alberto Mina.
Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of the UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm weigh-ins from the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia kicking off at 5 PM eastern time. The event airs on Saturday on pay-per-view at 10 PM eastern time. Preliminary card action kicks off on UFC Fight Pass at 6:15 PM eastern time before moving over to FS1 at 8 PM eastern time. This will be the UFC’s third stadium show and the first visit to Melbourne, Australia.
The event is headlined by two title fights in each of the UFC’s womens’ divisions topped by dominant champions. UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey looks to continue her reign as the best female fighter in the world as she puts her 12-0 record and title on the line against undefeated challenger Holly Holm. UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk looks to continue her dominance of the 115-pound division as she puts her title and undefeated record on the line against Valerie Letourneau, winner of four straight fights. Also on the card is a heavyweight bout that is a rematch of an all-time classic fight as Mark Hunt takes on Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.
MAIN CARD (PPV- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT):
Ronda Rousey (134) vs. Holly Holm (134) – UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship
Joanna Jedrzejczyk (114) vs. Valerie Letourneau (115) – UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship
Mark Hunt (265) vs. Antonio Silva (263)
Uriah Hall (185) vs. Robert Whittaker (185)
Stefan Struve (265) vs. Jared Rosholt (239)
PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT):
Jake Matthews (155) vs. Akbarh Arreola (155)
Kyle Noke (169) vs. Peter Sobotta (169)
Anthony Perosh (205) vs. Gian Villante (205)
Richie Vaculik (125) vs. Danny Martinez (125)
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 6:15 PM ET/3:15 PM PT):
Dan Kelly (185) vs. Steve Montgomery (185)
Richard Walsh (170) vs. Steve Kennedy (169)
James Moontasri (170) vs. Anton Zafir (170)
Ben Nguyen (126) vs. Ryan Benoit (125)
*Ronda calling Holly’s niceness all fake, and Ronda can see through her. Ronda is ready!
*Ronda gets right in her face. Holly didn’t back down. Awesome!
*Joanna pre-stared her down before even getting on the scale, Dana stepped in. Joanna said, “Her lucky day was yesterday…”
*Hunt came out already in his underwear.
*Vaculik and Martinez had a pull apart.
It’s the second straight weekend for a UFC event, and more chances to cash in if you play Draft Kings. UFC 193 comes our way on Saturday night from Melbourne, Australia, with two title fights and the two most dominant women in their respective weight classes defending their championships. Below are our studs, value plays, and fighters to avoid to help you fill out your UFC 193 DraftKings lineups:
STUDS
Joanna Jedrzejczyk ($11,300)
I could easily pick both Ronda Rousey and Joanna Jedrzejczyk to occupy these two stud slots, but for the sake of the article, I’m only going one. I suggest you draft both, and it is possible to draft both and keep a solid team as I will show you later. I expect Rousey to win quickly, but she may have a much harder time, so I’m putting Jedrzejczyk as my top stud for this event. She has dynamic striking and lands a lot of significant strikes, and her opponent, Valerie Letourneau, leaves herself open to eat a lot of punches. Jedrzejczyk has underrated takedown ability as well, and she looks to finish every second of the fight. I sense both women getting early finishes, which grabs a lot of points. Jedrzejczyk’s significant striking ability will likely net more points for you, and that could make up a big difference. Do yourself a favor- draft both, or if you only wanna stick with one, I’d go Jedrzejczyk over Rousey, but only slightly.
Uriah Hall ($9,800)
Uriah Hall is coming off the biggest win of his career when he knocked out Gegard Mousasi in September. He took that fight on short notice and takes another short notice bout against Robert Whittaker on Saturday at UFC 193. He looks like he is finally living up to his potential, and he gets a stout test in Whittaker. Whittaker can be finished in his career, as evidenced to his February 2014 loss to Stephen Thompson. Hall is a similar striker to Thompson and could give Whittaker the same type of fits with his kicks. Hall is flashy and likes the spin kick, much like Thompson displayed against Whittaker. I hope that is a fight Hall watched over and over in preparation. Hall can be an enigma at times, as there have been moments when he hasn’t lived up to expectations. With the recent performance against Mousasi, he seems mentally into it and another big win could be coming his way on Saturday. He has a good chance at scoring a finish.
VALUE PICKS
Dan Kelly ($9,000)
I’ll admit there aren’t a lot of value plays on this card. I expect a lot of the favorites with high salaries to win here. There are a couple of solid value picks, and one of them is Dan Kelly. Yes, he was involved in arguably the worst fight in the UFC in 2015 against Patrick Walsh. Yes, he lost in under a minute in his last bout. However, he has scored seven wins by stoppage in his career, including a first-round submission win in his UFC debut. He fights Steve Montgomery, who is coming off being finished in the first round in his UFC debut. Kelly is worth taking a chance on, especially if you wanna go after some of the higher salary fighters on the card.
Anton Zafir ($8,800)
Anton Zafir is making his UFC debut on Saturday on short notice, being an injury fill-in and taking his debut fight against James Moontasri on eight days’ notice. Zafir was being targeted for the UFC roster in the near future and was headed to the event to meet with UFC officials on what he needed to do to get on the roster. Luckily for him, a spot opened up and his UFC signing came sooner than expected. He is inexperienced, having fought just eight times, but he has won seven of those, and six of the wins have come by stoppage. His opponent, Moontasri, is coming off being finished in the first round in his last fight. Plus, Moontasri is also taking the fight as an injury replacement, though he had adequate training time, but he is also moving up in weight for this fight. Zafir is another solid option for those wanting to spend on bigger names.
AVOID
Antonio Silva ($8,900)
I’m avoiding Antonio Silva as much as possible at this event. First of all, I don’t expect him to defeat Mark Hunt. Even if he is able to, I don’t see him finishing Hunt. I actually see Hunt finishing him, so selecting Hunt for your roster might not be a bad idea. Silva’s best shot at winning is taking the fight to the judges and staying out of striking range. He might not maximize your point-scoring abilities on this card, so I’m saying to just avoid “Bigfoot” this time around due to his tough opponent and bad chin.
Valerie Letourneau ($8,100) & Holly Holm ($8,000)
I’m grouping these two together. They’re fighting the two most dominant women in the sport. I actually think Holm has a decent chance if she has an excellent gameplan. That gameplan, though, means staying as far away from Ronda Rousey as possible, and thus not maximizing point-scoring ability. Letourneau almost feels like she is being led to a slaughter. I’m finding a way to have both Rousey and Joanna Jedrzejczyk on my roster, and I think they score finishes over their opponents rather easily. That means avoid the challengers.
OUR LINE-UPS
RYAN FREDERICK: Ronda Rousey ($11,400), Joanna Jedrzejczyk ($11,300), Uriah Hall ($9,800), Anton Zafir ($8,800), Steve Kennedy ($8,600)
I found a way to get both dominant champions in my line-up, selecting Ronda Rousey and Joanna Jedrzejczyk. I see them getting the finishes in their title fights, and I don’t see either fight going past the second round. First-round wins won’t be surprising as well. I like Uriah Hall to continue to live up to his potential and get the finish win. The gameplan and blueprint for finishing Robert Whittaker is out there, Hall just has to execute. Anton Zafir is a sneaky play in his short-notice UFC debut, and he could make a big impression against James Moontasri, who can be finished. I rounded out my team with Steve Kennedy. Kennedy makes his second UFC appearance, but he has 22 professional wins in his career, with 17 by knockout or submission. His opponent, Richard Walsh, was brutally knocked out in his last bout. I give Kennedy a decent shot, and someone had to fill out my roster going with the two women.
PAUL FONTAINE: Joanna Jedrezejczyk ($11,300), Mark Hunt ($10,500), Richie Vaculik ($9,700), Robert Whittaker ($9,600), Steve Kennedy ($8,600)
This is a tough week for this. I really tried hard to figure out a way to get both Rousey and Joanna on my team but I cant’ find a combination that makes me happy so I’m let with this. I picked JJ over Ronda due to the fact that I think both will win by quick stoppage but Joanna will probably land more strikes in doing so and thus earn me more points. I also like Mark Hunt to rebound from his beating at the hands of Stipe Miocic to score a quick knockout over Bigfoot Silva. My third choice is Richie Vaculik. He should be motivated by the rabid home country crowd and his opponent Danny Martinez is on a 3 fight losing streak. My next two picks are also Australians with Robert Whittaker being next. The popular opinion is Uriah Hall but Whittaker shouldn’t be overlooked. He’s got a lot of power and again will be a huge favorite to these fans. Uriah Hall is either really bad or really good and we haven’t seen the bad one in awhile. With the short turnaround between fights and the long trip to Australia, it could be a recipe for disaster. My final pick is Steve Kennedy, who took his UFC debut fight on short notice. He’s had a proper training camp here and will hopefully rebound and score me some points.
PEACH MACHINE: Ronda Rousey ($11,400), Jake Matthews ($11,000), Robert Whittaker ($9,600), Ryan Benoit ($9,400), Steve Kennedy ($8,600)
Rousey is definitely worth the price tag. Automatic. Ryan Benoit is going to keep winning, especially against Ben Nguyen. Jake Matthews is a hometown hero. I saw him fight live in Australia and it was awesome. I expect him to roll through Arreola. I like Robert Whittaker moving up to 185. He’s a fast middleweight, but so is Hall. However, I’m expecting the uncertain, cautious Hall to come out here once he starts dealing with Whittaker’s complete game. Steven Kennedy is my sleeper pick… Because he was all I could afford, so I’m hoping he does something besides go to sleep!
On Friday, EA Sports officially announced its second UFC video game, EA Sports UFC 2, that will be released in the spring. UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey, to no surprise, will be featured on the cover.
“EA Sports is a cultural barometer to know what’s going on in sports at the moment,” said Rousey in a press release. “As a gamer myself, it’s pretty surreal to be on the cover of the game and to have a woman on the cover of a UFC game shows a lot of progress. I’m really happy to be involved with it.”
Rousey was in the running to be on the cover of the first game, which was decided via fan vote. But due to the timing of the game and voting being around the time the Ultimate Fighter season she coached was on, she lost in the voting in a head-to-head matchup with Miesha Tate. Due to a surge of European voting, light heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson got the nod.
The game will add a new Knockout Physics System and authentic gameplay features, and have the largest roster of fighters. It is being released on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Other new game modes are KO Mode, UFC Ultimate Team and a new career mode that allows fans to create women fighters for the first time in a game, as was as Grapple Assist, for more ground game variations and submissions. Click here for more details on the game’s features.
Rousey defends her title against Holly Holm Saturday in the main event of UFC 193. Dave, Bryan and UFC star Filthy Tom Lawlor will break down the event for subscribers late Saturday night.
We are getting close to the biggest UFC event ever to take place. We are less than 2 days away from Ronda Rousey defending her Women’s Bantamweight championship against Holly Holm. The UFC is now a massive company. It generates millions of dollars, and is popular almost everywhere. It has expanded across the globe, and has visited many countries and continents. Yet, the sport of MMA is still using an archaic scoring system taken from boxing. Unfortunately, this has resulted in bad decisions with the wrong fighters winning or losing. A change is over due with the scoring, and it needs to be initiated by Dana White and the UFC or it will never happen.
Thank you to everyone who has been following my experiment. I have received quite a bit of feedback via email and twitter (@hendosfoodblog), and most of it was actually useful.
In this ten part series, I tried to find out if there is a better way to score a fight. My theory was simple. Using more of the allotted 10 points will lead to fairer decisions.
I started out with multiple options, but eventually settled on the “True Ten” scoring system, which scores using the exact same criteria, except more of the points may be used. Here are the possibilities:
10-10 = an even round, where a judge could go either way. Stop! Use this score. We needs judges unafraid to be indecisive. Make a fighter earn the round.
10-9 = the round where not much damage was done, but one fighter eked it out. Some called this the 10-9.5 round using a half point system. Needlessly complicated.
10-8 = the current 10-9, where a fighter obviously won a round. If it’s less than obvious, do not use this score, go back to a 10-9.
10-7 = A fighter obviously won, and did some decent damage. We need to see a lot more of these scores.
10-6 = the current 10-8 where a fighter dominates the round
10-5 = A dominant round and the fight possibly could have been stopped.
It’s pretty logical. Use more 10-10s and we will have fewer bad decisions and more draws, which is fine in my book. Use more 10-8’s (or 7’s or 6’s) and we will have a more realistic scoring differential.
Pros:
Cons:
By the Numbers…
Those are the stats I collected, but the only statistics that really matter are the next…
Number of differing outcomes using True Ten scoring: 2**
Percentage of differing outcomes using True Ten: 5.5%
** Both of those two differing outcomes resulted in the match being ruled a draw.
Note on scoring…
One thing that I noticed as I scored all these fights, was how the earlier rounds influenced my judging later. Often I’d found that because the first round was close but I went with Fighter A, I then tended to find a reason to pick Fighter B in the second round. That way, I could let the third decide it. Another common decision I was making was that if Fighter A took the first and second pretty obviously, then if the third was close at all, I’d give it to Fighter B, because of, I don’t know, pity. So what I’m suggesting is a rotation of judges. No one judge can judge more than one round of a fight. I’m sure this would be a logistical nightmare, and if studied, probably would not reveal any significant results, but I know that the earlier rounds effected my later round judging, as much as I tried to prevent it, and this is the only way I can think to make judging completely objective.
Also, why are we limiting ourselves to three judges? Make it five. Or let the referee have a vote. I don’t know why we are limiting the polling size so greatly. Let the Internet be a vote. That could get whacky!
The results of this study were less than satisfying, because I had predicted that we would see a statistically significant amount of change. Unfortunately, nearly every outcome using True Ten was the same as the Ten Point Must, so it would seem that this is an unnecessary scoring change for this moment. However, beyond merely deciding the outcome of a match, the score represents the drama. It represents a fight. It needs to be the blind justice in the fighting world, not left up to the whims of the ghost of boxing’s past. MMA judging needs to tell the story of the fight, and take the viewer on an adventure. Such as a comeback in other sports is only thrilling because of the large point differential, fighting should be the same. It should have both highs and lows. However, most of all, it should be correct. Do I ask too much of numbers? Some would say yes. Others would say that I’ve just gone mad, but damn them all, numbers are accurate! Trust the numbers. They do not lie. They have no emotion. They don’t care. They don’t breathe… The 600 series had rubber skin. We spotted them easy, but these are new. They look human… sweat, bad breath, everything. Very hard to spot. I had to wait till he moved on you before I could zero him…
If you’ve enjoyed these columns and found any value in my urgency to change the system, I’d ask you to continue the conversation. If you work for a commission or know someone who does, push the issue. Talk about it with your peers, or with your family at the dinner table during Thanksgiving. It’s that important. We need to keep this issue alive because the scoring needs to change. No more relics of boxing. This is a different sport and needs a different scoring system.
No Fate, but what we make. #TrueTen
******
Stats (individually by show):
Total Official Decisions: 36 (by show 4,3,3,3,4,4,4,2,6,3)
Unanimous: 28 (by show 4,2,2,3,2,3,3,2,4,3)
Split: 4 (by show 1,1,0,0,0,0,1,0,1,0)
Other: 4 (by show 0,0,0,0,2,0,0,2,0,0,)
Different Outcomes Using True Ten: 4 (0,0,0,0,0,0,2,2,0,0)
Differing outcomes result in 4 draws
In this free-for-all edition of Josh Nason‘s Punch-Out, Josh brought in UFC lightweight contender Michael Chiesa to put on his analyst hat and talk about this weekend’s UFC 193: Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm spectacular.
This is a free edition of #JNPO, so please share with any MMA fans you know!
In their 45-minute chat, the guys also talked about:
– Michael’s purchase of his first home, and what it signifies for him
– Why he hasn’t been as active as other UFC lightweights
– His frustrations about his 2014 doctor’s stoppage loss to Joe Lauzon
– His December 10th fight against Jim Miller and who he’s brought into camp to help him train
– What questions MMA media can ask fighters to be better informed
– His thoughts on last Saturday’s UFC Fight Night Brazil including his fellow lightweight victors
– A look at UFC 193 and what Holly Holm has to do in order to beat Ronda Rousey
– The one main card fight he’s really looking forward to.
– Josh’s ‘Opening Round’ on Ken Shamrock vs. Royce Gracie III…and plenty more!
*****
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