UFC fans rally after defeat of world champion

“Holly Holm is the new UFC women’s bantamweight champion of the world… Oh my God… Unbelievable…”

These are the words that silenced an entire fan base world wide and shook the world of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) to its core. The unthinkable had happened: Ronda Rousey, the undefeated and seemingly unbeatable champion, had been knocked out.

On November 15, Ronda Rousey entered the Octagon for the 14th time in her UFC career expecting another short and easy fight. Holly Holm, the challenger, gave Ronda a run for her money in a short two-round championship fight in Melbourne, Australia.

Ronda Rousey, aka “Rowdy” rose to fame in 2011 when she became the pioneer for women’s MMA in the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). She hadn’t always been an MMA fighter though. She began her fighting career as a young girl learning Judo. Her mother, AnnMaria De Mars, is the first American Judoka to ever bring home a gold medal at the World Judo Championship.

Rousey excelled in Judo and began competing early. She earned many medals including two gold, a silver, and a bronze from the Pan American Judo Championship, a gold medal from the Pan American Games, a silver medal from the Judo World Championship, and the bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

After many years out of martial arts completely, Ronda became interested in MMA. Her mother disliked the idea, but Rousey being the headstrong and fierce person she is, persisted until she had a meeting with UFC President Dana White.

Dana White was quoted on numerous occasions claiming that women would never be allowed in the UFC. White didn’t see the problem with the sport being men only, nor could he predict the cash flow and hype Ronda Rousey would produce.

After months of persuasion, some help from social media, and the women’s MMA Strikeforce title in hand, Ronda Rousey had finally convinced Dana White to create the UFC Women’s Bantamweight class. He announced the beginning of the women’s weight class at a press conference prior to UFC 155 on December 5, 2012. Rousey was set to face Liz Carmouche in the first ever women’s UFC fight at UFC 157 on February 23, 2013.

“I’ve seen a lot of tough girls, but I haven’t seen a girl with the whole package until this one,” White said. Rousey proved victorious once again.

Rousey’s winning streak didn’t stop there. She defeated Carmouche in the very first round of the championship fight by an armbar, a submission that stresses the joints of the arm causing the opponent to tap out.

After serving as one of the coaches on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter, Rousey fought the opposing coach, Miesha Tate. Miesha lasted three rounds with Rousey not only to have a beaten and bloody face, but her shoulder broken by the champion.

Rousey continued to beat other women in astonishing time and fashion including Sara McMann by knockout in the first round, Alexis Davis by knockout in only 16 seconds, Cat Zingano by armbar in only 14 seconds,  and Bethe Correia by knockout in 34 seconds. Then came Holly Holm.

The Rousey vs. Holm fight was difficult for many to watch, especially Rousey fans. She seemed to have forgotten many important elements of being a fighter such as keeping her hands up to protect her face, checking kicks, parrying punches, and not chasing her opponent around the Octagon.

“Ronda’s getting very sloppy chasing after her. Big deep breaths, Ronda looks exhausted,” UFC commentator Joe Rogan said. “Hands are down, chin is up. It takes a lot of energy to be a rockstar.”

Rogan said it best. Rousey has been working nonstop for the past months between MMA and her Hollywood acting career, Rousey has appeared in movies such as the Expendables 3, Entourage, and Fast and Furious 7. She also wrote a New York Times bestseller called “My Fight, Your Fight” that told her life story through the eyes of the champion.

It was evident to any viewer who had seen any Ronda Rousey fight prior to this one that something was wrong. She was on edge and not sticking to things that she knows. Many conspiracies have been circulating the MMA world including ideas that her coach, Edmond, had installed in Ronda’s brain that she is an excellent boxer compared to Holm; Ronda needs to keep her legacy of ending fights in a awing manner in a short time; or that Rousey just didn’t train hard enough for this fight.

“Unbelievable, what a performance by Holly Holm. Just an absolutely staggering performance by the challenger,” UFC commentator Mike Goldberg commented after the fight.

Although her one small loss may not seem significant compared to her abundance of wins, Rousey fans all over the world remain in a state of devastation. Rousey has never fought a fight in the UFC that has gone all the way to decision. This is a pivotal trait to have in the UFC and is extremely rare.

Ronda Rousey maintained a record with no losses for four years in a sport considered brand new to women worldwide. Despite her record changing from 13-0 to 13-1, Rousey has still done something deemed impossible by pioneering this growing sport and maintaining an amazing streak.

Although Rousey has been in a totally normal and understandable state of grief for a few weeks, she has promised her fans that she will be back. A loss may have just been what Ronda needed to reignite the fire and drive her to be even better than she was before.

Holly Holm and Miesha Tate will compete for the belt in March. Rousey will return to the Octagon in November for a women’s bantamweight championship fight where she hopes to reclaim the championship.