Rousey KO'd in the second round with a kick to the head

[dlevere]

Posted by schroedinger

Ronda Rousey - arguably the most dominant and recognizable athlete in women's MMA - has been defeated.

In the much anticipated fight Holm KO'd Rousey in the second round with a kick to the head. While Holm was arguably the most challenging opponent Rousey has faced, Rousey was still strongly favored to win. Prior to this, only one other opponent has made it past the first round with Rousey and 8/12 of those matches were finished in less than a minute.

The lead-up was notable for a particularly inspiring hype video that drew from the athletes' own relatives for casting.

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[Pyriel]

I can watch that over and over.

I always like to see a dominant champion, but Rousey often came off as a bully with a long memory for grudges. Factor in her shady coach who did a lot to convince her she was an elite-level striker, despite her mostly lumbering around, and knocking out weaker girls via ape-spaz, and I really think being taken down a peg will do her some good. It might motivate her to switch camps, which certainly can't hurt. It was patently obvious Rousey's only game plan was "do what you do", and her coach was just stroking her ego between rounds. Meanwhile the Jackson team in Holm's corner did what they always do, and set their considerable skill with gameplans against Rousey.

Rousey just plain looked bad. Quite a few articles make it sound like the head-kick and KO that immediately followed were massive shocks, and maybe they would have been at 0:59 of the first round. By the second round, it was the obvious conclusion to the fight. Holm had escaped all of Rousey's attempts to grapple in the first, and unless that changed, it was utterly apparent that Rousey had no means to victory. She was outclassed in striking, couldn't work her grappling, and she appeared to have exhausted herself in the first round. When a fighter is throwing stiff, but typical hooks, and falling over from their own momentum, it doesn't bode well, and seems like a good indication that their striking is anything but elite.

[dlevere]

I wasn't going to pay for the fight because of her previous quick endings to her previous matches. I am glad that she got her ass kicked, though. Thanks for posting that image.

[Pyriel]

I wish I could find the aerial view on it. You can sort of see it in the GIF above, but in the aerial view you can clearly see that Ronda has her left arm out as she stood up just prior to the kick. It looks like she's trying to keep Holm at bay with running-back tactics. Her right arm is held uselessly at her waist. For good measure, she doesn't even try to get out of range. It's like she's unaware that people she's fighting are allowed to hit her.

[MathUser]

I hope she goes to WWE now. I'd watch that.