Official UFC Thread - Part 6

[TheVileOne]

Just got back from Etihad stadium in Melbourne. That was incredible. The crowd went absolutely ballistic when Rousey hit the floor. Not because they wanted her to lose, but because it was just so shocking to see. Noone was expecting it to finish so dramatically and quickly in the second round.

How were your seats Wise? It was a cool visual, but I wouldn't have wanted to be on those patio furniture floor seats .

 

[Wise]

I stupidly passed on tickets to the fight because I didn't think it would last long. Hope you had fun down there Wise.

It was a great day. My company does work for a major betting company, so we were given amazing seats.

 

[Wise]

How were your seats Wise? It was a cool visual, but I wouldn't have wanted to be on those patio furniture floor seats .

Couple of rows back right next to the entrance way. Dana White high fived my hand! t:

 

[DarthSkywalker]

She deserves a long rest. And to fire Tarverdyan.

She does need a better coach. Her corner between rounds was so bad.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Meh, all the haters coming out to knock Rousey while she's down.

Same haters said no one was in her league and could compete with her so the division sucks as a result.

Honestly, it's nights and fights like this that make me love MMA even more. The fans though? Not so much.

That shows you how deficient she really is. A solid striker beat her badly. How many times can you walk into a left hand? Once the TD didn't work, she was done. Still think Cyborg mauls her.

 

[Serpico Jones]

Dana White looked depressed on ESPN.

 

[Batmannerism]

Holm was paying $7 for the win down here. Rousey was paying $1.55. Wish I put down a lazy $20 now.

Hindsight is 20/20 bro ! I bet Japan was paying a pretty penny to beat South Africa last month. Face it, going in Holm looked like a longshot - now she looks legit.

Wonder if anyone did make a packet on Holm though ?

 

[jmc]

Just watched the entire fight again. It really was like watching someone who's never fought before. Zero technique and no idea how to defend. Ronda had one game plan and when it was nullified she had no answers and was out of gas after the first round.

 

[Kane52630]

 

[TheBat812]

Fight was crazy and really great. Rousey really should've stuck to her advantage as a wrestler after the first few minutes started looking really bad. Holm really had her number all night thought. She completely owned that entire second round. Her shoving Rousey into the right position for the perfect head kick was an amazing move.

 

[ThePhantasm]

Rousey was KO'ed by that kick before she even hit the floor. They had to run her to the hospital to get stitches for her split lip.

 

[Black Narcissus]

Ali's daughter has always been right. Rousey wouldn't last in boxing. I still dig her.

 

[Batmannerism]

Couple of rows back right next to the entrance way. Dana White high fived my hand! t:

That's awesome ! Nice photo dude.

 

[Slushy]

It was a lucky kick and everybody fu**ing knows it!

 

[B]

Pretty big upset. Don't think Rousey showed Holm's striking anywhere near the level of respect it deserved, she was pressing forward in straight lines as if she was fighting one of her previous opponents who don't have the level of striking experience as Holm. It would have been fine if she'd been trying to close the distance quickly to force a clinch, but moving in straight lines against someone coming from the sort of boxing & kickboxing backround Holm has is a massive no, no.

Holly Holm did fantastically though, she controlled the range & distance completely, there were 2 clinching exchanges & she did get put down by Ronda but luckily managed to wriggle away as she was working for position, the 2nd time Holm put Ronda down.

The deciding factor in the fight wasn't that Holly Holm is the hardest puncher or kicker Ronda has ever faced, I mean she probably is, but the thing that decided it was Holm's movement & control of range, something you'd expect from someone coming from a striking backround.

I'm not really sure what sort of gameplan Ronda came in with, but I thought she'd have done things the Jon Jones/GSP way & did things smart by trying to get Holm out of her comfort zone & when she did close the distance rather than try to take Holm's head off with a haymaker, try to force a trip or a clinch.

Best thing that could have happened for the womens division, I thought Ronda would have just taken her down & eventually submitted her, but through perhaps some arrogance she tried to fight Holy at her game & she has been taught a lesson.

 

[ThePhantasm]

its funny... on the Tonight Show Rousey predicted how Holm's could potentially beat her, and then said "but its not gonna go like that..." and it went like that exactly. Down to Rousey telling Fallon "she's gonna try to kick me in the head!"

 

[PacificBoy]

I thought Rousey's corner let her down big time, letting their fighter enter the fight underprepared physically and mentally, and giving piss poor, 'you're doing great' advice at the end of the first round when she clearly wasn't. Rousey ate Holm's lefts time and again, as if she didn't know her opponent was southpaw.

 

[Slushy]

Best thing that could have happened for the womens division, I thought Ronda would have just taken her down & eventually submitted her, but through perhaps some arrogance she tried to fight Holy at her game & she has been taught a lesson.

Reminds me of when Brock Lesnar tried being a striker. That didn't end well.

 

[HeyZeus]

RR never had a chance and she knew it. She's always been a one trick pony. He striking is atrocious.

 

[B]

Reminds me of when Brock Lesnar tried being a striker. That didn't end well.

I don't think Lesnar ever tried to be a striker & I don't think he did enough to close the distance of his striking flaws, from the training footage I've seen of him he ran an awful lot of wrestling & strength/conditioning drills with very basic striking, he must have believed he could simply overpower everyone he faced.

Ronda does to her credit have decent hand speed, power & movement. I think though she kinda got lulled into not giving Holly's striking the credit it deserved when she actually got into the cage. Ronda marched forward like she was fighting Tate, Correia, McMann & whoever else she's fought.

Like look at Lesnar, when he fought Overeem who has an extensive kickboxing backround, he fought, to an extent the way he should have fought, cautiously. When you do come forward to attack or making a grappling attempt you do it explosively, obviously he didn't win but it at least showed Overeem's striking some respect. Ronda just marched forward in straight lines, didn't seem to utilise any angles at all & as a result made it fairly easy for Holly to keep the distance that she wanted or was comfortable with & circle away from danger when Ronda got to close or her back got too close to the cage.

 

[Raiden]

Well, this is definitely a shocking result, including Holm I'm sure. The funny thing is, I had listened to a radio interview with Holm last week on the morning show I listen to at work, and from the way she discussed with the hosts about her preparation against Rousey I thought she was supremely confident. Even the hosts told her that she seemed very calm against an undefeated Rousey. I guess she really had a good reason to be that confident. I do like Ronda Rousey a lot, but it also appears to me that her head has gotten bigger after each victory, and I don't think she has been as well-prepared against Holm as Holm has against her. Even Mohammed Ali wasn't undefeated his entire career, and I think Rousey can learn from this humbling experience and become a better fighter, unless she is making good on her promise that she will retire after age 30.

 

[Fallen Angel]

It was going to happen eventually. I get the feeling she got too cocky. Ronda you're good but you aint THAT good.

 

[Golgo-13]

It was going to happen eventually. I get the feeling she got too cocky. Ronda you're good but you aint THAT good.

Yep. Nobody is invincible. It was just a matter of time.

 

[Uptown Finest]

Lol she thought she was Mayweather.

 

[Brian Braddock]

Shoulda touched gloves. Rousey's lack of grace had turned me off her in recent times. Maybe this humbling experience will teach her a bit of humility and she'll not only come back a better fighter but also a better person.

On top of the obvious (Holm's movement, her pinpoint striking, the knock out, Rousey's poor game plan, poor corner and possibly, dare I say it, preparation - she looked softer than usual and gassed pretty quickly) what impressed me about Holm was her skills in the clinch. Even when Rousey had hold of her, she was able to either escape the situation (how many of Rousey's opponents have been able to do that? norm is that once Rousey has a hold on someone, it typically ends in her victory) and, at one stage, actually take Rousey down (again, who else has been able to do that?).

Last night was awesome and is the reason why I stay up until 5am to watch one of these things, much like I did back in the boxing superfight golden days of Tyson, Holyfield and Lewis etc....