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Core Topics => In the Media => Topic started by: Wildcat on November 18, 2015, 12:22:23 PM
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Stunning Upset of U.F.C. Champion Ronda Rousey Leaves Her Future Up in the Air
By VICTOR MATHERNOV. 16, 2015
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*couldn't get the video, dang it, so you have to click on it(maybe a mod could fix for me :) ) **
It was Ronda Rousey’s Buster Douglas moment. Those who watched it were stunned. Those who read about it the next morning did a double take. And more than a few people were wondering where it leaves her career.
In 1990, Mike Tyson was also unbeaten and had the same aura of invincibility as Rousey. Like her, he put opponents away rapidly and with ease. But on Feb. 10 in Tokyo, he faced the little-known Douglas as a 40-1 favorite and was knocked out in one of sports’ biggest upsets.
Rousey’s fight also took place on the other side of the world, on Sunday in Melbourne, Australia, and the result was also shocking. Holly Holm, ranked just eighth in their weight class and underwhelming in her two previous Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts, knocked Rousey out in the second round.
Rousey started the fight on the attack, perhaps looking for another quick win. But she found herself chasing Holm around the Octagon, all the time taking hard punches and kicks. She struggled to get Holm on the ground, thanks in part to Holm’s superior reach. Even when Rousey began to apply her signature armbar, Holm eluded it and continued the barrage. A nasty kick to the head finished Rousey off.
Rousey was taken to a hospital to be checked after the fight and did not make a postfight statement. But in a brief post on Instagram on Monday, she wrote, “I’m going to take a little bit of time, but I’ll be back.”
Like Douglas, who held his own for 10 rounds with Tyson, Holm did not win on a fluky blow. She was the comfortable winner of the first round.
Andrew Richardson, the analyst for SB Nation, wrote: “Holm fought perfectly. She circled away from Rousey’s bull rushes expertly and repeatedly countered while doing so, which frustrated Rousey and caused her to fade quickly. Even when Rousey did slow down, Holm remained composed and picked her opportunities.”
Holm, 34, was 33-2-3 as a boxer, holding W.B.A., W.B.C. and numerous other titles. She then moved into mixed martial arts, where her record improved to 10-0 with the Rousey win.
In the past, boxers like Holm have not fared well in mixed martial arts, compared with wrestlers and judokas, like Rousey. This had prompted numerous commentators, and Rousey herself, to suggest that she could beat even a top male boxer like Floyd Mayweather in the cage or a street fight. But it turned out a top boxer who fought intelligently, like Holm, was more than a match for her.
Many analysts faulted Rousey for what they saw as fighting with overconfidence, engaging Holm with punches rather than focusing on going for a takedown.
But Rousey’s trainer, Edmond Tarverdyan, disagreed. “Ronda is smart enough to take the fight where she is best at, and today she did,” he told ESPN. “Holly stopped an attempt on an armbar and stopped some of the takedowns. She did a good job.”
Rousey had also spent a lot of time before the fight talking about taking a break and forging a career in Hollywood. (She has appeared in the films “Expendables 3,” “Furious 7” and “Entourage.”) It is certainly possible that mentally her edge was dulled at least a little.
What’s next for Rousey?
At 28, she is young for the Octagon. The median age of a U.F.C. champ is 31, and only two champions are younger than Rousey.
The U.F.C. president, Dana White, suggested immediately that a rematch would be in the offing. Rousey had turned into the U.F.C.’s most marketable star, male or female, and it is in everyone’s interest to keep her front and center.
Bookmakers rank Rousey as the favorite in a rematch, though by about 3-2, not the 10-1 or 12-1 she was favored over Holm the first time. There is every reason to think Rousey will regain her belt, perhaps soon.
But Tyson may provide a cautionary tale. Before the Douglas fight, he was 37-0 with a series of brutal signature wins.
Though he did reclaim his title eventually, the post-Douglas era mostly featured losses to fighters like Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis and wins over much lesser fighters.
Rousey will need to rethink her tactics and rediscover her motivation. She will win again, and may even be the best again. But she will never again be invincible.
Ronda goes down HARD............
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Maybe a poor title choice but that was one hell of a fight...good to see Ronda get her ego and attitude put in check for sure. It just seemed the other girl outmatched her from the opeing bell.
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Maybe a poor title choice but that was one hell of a fight...good to see Ronda get her ego and attitude put in check for sure. It just seemed the other girl outmatched her from the opeing bell.
C'mon-
Lighten up!!!!!
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Did anyone else see the video of rousey saying how not everyone is champion material. That it is a much easier life to be a contender. She sounded so pompous and arrogant I was happy that she got her attitude checked hopefully she will come back and be a bit more humble. I think she is a good fighter but has let her ego shadow that.
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Did anyone else see the video of rousey saying how not everyone is champion material. That it is a much easier life to be a contender. She sounded so pompous and arrogant I was happy that she got her attitude checked hopefully she will come back and be a bit more humble. I think she is a good fighter but has let her ego shadow that.
Yes!!! Indeed..... chick took her down a well deserved notch! She got hit so hard-if you watch in slow-mo, looks like her face is about to fly right off! It was GREAT.
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I'm stunned, I just learned about this. I very nearly bet against Rousey, because I have some free credit on a sports betting site (even though I've never made a sports bet in my life).
Damn, I should have made that bet. I considered betting against mayweather too but it was kinda the same thing, basically laziness..
Rousey will get it back, I bet she wins that belt back soon, and with a vengeance..
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I wish i had a couple hundred on that. Damn