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Tag: Ronda Rousey
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WOR 11/19: Epic Charlotte rant, blockbuster Ronda Rousey numbers, more!
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer returns tonight with tons of news to talk about including an epic rant from Dave regarding the Charlotte angle on Raw, Survivor Series notes, what John Cena is doing during his time off, the death of Bryan’s original trainer Ole Olsen, blockbuster numbers for UFC this past weekend, mailbag and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
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UFC 193 has third highest prelims viewers numbers of the FS era
The prelims for UFC 193 on Saturday night averaged 1,394,000 viewers on FS 1 up against College football and the Democratic debate. This was the highest viewership for a PPV prelims show since the UFC 183 prelims on January 31st. That was the show where Miesha Tate fought in the featured prelim fight. The main card was headlined by the Anderson Silva-Nate Diaz fight, which drew an estimated 650,000 PPV buys.
There is usually a correlation between the prelims number and the final PPV buys number, particularly when the prelims number is large. It should also be noted that on PPV shows where Ronda Rousey is fighting on the main card, the prelims number is up almost 50% over shows where she’s not on the main card.
It should also be noted that there was nothing even close to a big name fighting on the prelims, with the four fights all featuring Australian fighters against low-mid card fighters from the rest of the world, the most well-known being Gian Villante. The featured fight was Jake Matthews vs Akhbar Arreola, neither of whom has even fought on a televised main card in the UFC.
PPV prelims shows during the FS 1 era: 26 shows, 882,840 average viewers
PPV prelims shows during the FS 1 era where Rousey is on main card: 6 shows, 1,204,600 average viewers
PPV prelims shows during the FS 1 era where Rousey is not on main card: 20 shows, 802,400 average viewers
The theory behind this would be that Ronda Rousey is such a big name to the casual audience that the fact that she is fighting on the show raises awareness and brings up the prelims number.
Further evidence that the show did a very strong number of PPV buys is the following:
There have been 8 FS 1 PPV prelims shows that did at least 1 million viewers since the station started airing them in August 2013. Here are the PPV buys for those shows:
UFC 168 – 1,025,000 PPV buys (prelims – 1,550,000 viewers)
UFC 175 – 545,000 PPV buys (prelims – 1,000,000 viewers)
UFC 182 – 800,000 PPV buys (prelims – 1,040,000 viewers)
UFC 183 – 650,000 PPV buys (prelims – 1,546,000 viewers)
UFC 184 – 650,000 PPV buys (prelims – 1,205,000 viewers)
UFC 185 – 310,000 PPV buys (prelims – 1,003,000 viewers)
UFC 190 – 900,000 PPV buys (prelims – 1,332,000 viewers)
UFC 193 – ? PPV buys (prelims – 1,394,000 viewers)
UFC 185 was the exception here and that was a show headlined by a main event of Anthony Pettis v Rafael Dos Anjos. The only show during this time period that did a strong PPV buys numbers coinciding with a relatively weak prelims number was UFC 189, which did about 825,000 PPV buys and 847,000 prelims TV viewers.
No estimates are available at this time for how UFC 193 did on PPV although Dana White today on Joe Rogan’s podcast said that the show was trending at well over a million buys. These numbers would suggest that to be a distinct possibility.
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FREE! F4D 11/16: UFC star Filthy Tom Lawlor with second-by-second breakdown of Rousey fight, more!
For the first time ever, FILTHY FOUR DAILY with UFC star Tom Lawlor is FREE today! Tom has a second-by-second breakdown of the Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm fight including everything that Rousey did wrong leading to the biggest upset in the entire history of the UFC. You will learn, guaranteed, how to impress your friends and colleagues with the correct pronunciation of Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s name. We’ll also talk pro-wrestling, including a preview for tomorrow’s Retro Nitro review, all the details of our own tournament to win a copy of WWE2K16, how you can email Tom questions for a mailbag segment and more!
This is a FREE SHOW so please spread the word! Tom appears every Monday afternoon only for subscribers at wrestlingobserver.com. Subscribers also have full access to commercial-free downloads of Wrestling Observer Live, plus over 7,000 new and archived shows! Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez do minimum three shows per week in addition to as many as 20 other weekly members-only shows. Sign up at wrestlingobserver.com!
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FREE! WOL 11/15: Ronda Rousey doom, death of Nick Bockwinkel, more!
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back to talk the biggest news of the weekend including Ronda Rousey’s epic loss to Holly Holm, the death of Nick Bockwinkel and tons more!
This is a FREE SHOW so please spread the word! Wrestling Observer Live airs daily at noon PT/3 ET on Sports Byline USA, available free through TuneIn Radio, iHeart Radio and more. A full affiliate list is available at sportsbyline.com Subscribers have full access to commercial-free downloads plus over 7,000 new and archived shows! Dave and Bryan do minimum three shows per week in addition to as many as 20 other weekly members-only shows. Sign up at wrestlingobserver.com for all of this new audio content, plus over 7,000 archived shows dating back to 2005!
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Ronda Rousey’s UFC comeback story starts with her desire to write it
Photo: Getty Images
If there’s one thing that appeals to us, it’s a comeback story. As much as we like to tear down fame and accomplishment in some bizarre effort to cover up our own inadequacies, we love when someone that’s knocked down gets back up and rages against the dying of the light.
On this Sunday, there’s no better case for The Great American Comeback Story than with former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey.
Let’s hang on that word: former. We now live in a world where the unthinkable is now reality: Rousey has a loss and a bad one at that. In front of a record 56,214 in Melbourne, Australia, what was hailed as the world’s most dangerous woman got her comeuppance against a woman in Holly Holm that is six years her elder and much less her level of fame. As crisp as Holm looked, Rousey looked as stale. While everything during fight week appeared as normal (even with that odd forced/farced pull-apart at the weigh-ins) something or someone put sugar in the machine’s gas tank.
In retrospect, we should have expected this at some point. With Rousey’s increased level of celebrity in 2015 came more opportunities for the outside world to creep in through the cracks of what was previously an impenetrable exterior.
Just look at the level of distraction this year alone: a) a book release, b) appearances in several movies, c) a whole lot of ESPN attention and awards, d) being asked about fighting Floyd Mayweather 10,000 times, e) getting cited by mainstream female stars like Beyonce, f) an appearance on Ellen and other mainstream talk shows, g) her head coach filed for bankruptcy, h) her mother did interviews ripping said coach where she mentioned running over him with a car, i) her relationship with Travis Browne went public, j) she had to defend her name against domestic violence from a past relationship and k) the bulk of the promotional load for three main event PPVs. Looking at all of that, it’s clear that it became too much to bear.
The Rousey that was knocked silly Saturday wasn’t the Rousey that started off 2015 and, as a result, she is now without a giant piece of metal and leather. Just as she was about to nearly fully escape the MMA bubble most of us exist in, the cold hand of reality grabbed her ankle and pulled her back down with the rest of us. She’s still a professional fighter — even if her agents and PR people are likely hoping for otherwise.
So, now what?
The prevailing thought is Rousey disappears for months and we get an early springtime announcement of a rematch with Holm at July’s UFC 200. While she will have shed off many of the fringe fans who like their stars perfect and without tarnish, the thought of Rousey coming back with something to prove has got to be tantalizing for Dana White & crew.
Depending on where we’re at when/if that fight gets announced, she should be favored. However, while we can expect that Rousey will be as motivated to get her title back as we think she should be, eight months is a long time away. A second loss would be devastating and a major setback to any Hollywood hopes. Her handlers have no doubt done a risk assessment, and perhaps they are saying, “Enough’s enough. If we’re going to do this movie thing, now’s the time.” They also might suggest that a big win in a Holm rematch would make her an even bigger star.
That’s the risk with athletes who want to go outside their lane and be known for more than what brought them to the dance to begin with. Dwight Howard famously wanted to go to the L.A. Lakers so he could branch into movies and entertainment. One less-than-thrilling season later, he found himself in Houston far away from the bright lights. It’s tough to be truly great at one thing, much less two. Look at today’s top tier athletes and compare their level of focus for their primary sport and what else they could be doing. There’s a big difference between building a brand vs. being a champion, and doing both extremely well.
If Rousey truly wants to be known as an all-time great fighter, she’s got to focus on doing just that and reclaim all that was lost in Australia. UFC legend Georges St. Pierre provided the blueprint as he won 12 straight over six years with nine title defenses to close out his career (we think) after being embarrassed in a TKO loss to Matt Serra in 2007. But GSP didn’t have machinations at being a pop culture icon as he was doing it. He simply wanted to win fights, and to be the best. Does Rousey still want that?
Especially in Hollywood, there’s nothing better than a comeback story. Rousey can literally write her’s in the blood of her opponents, but only if she truly is motivated to pick up the pen.
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WOR 11/15: RONDA ROUSEY LOSES TO HOLLY HOLM
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~!
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UFC 193 results: Holly Holm downs Ronda Rousey in major upset
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.
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UFC 193 Melbourne live results: Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm
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 & previewCoverage 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
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UFC 193 Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm: Our picks & preview
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
HeavyweightsRematches 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)
MiddleweightsThe 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)
HeavyweightsStruve 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*****
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