Holly Holm gave the world one of the biggest surprises on Saturday night as she defeated Ronda Rousey via a "vicious, second-round, head-kick knockout" as the UFC women's bantamweight champion. The fight was held in Melbourne, Australia.
The crowd at the Etihad Stadium, Melbourne, Australia, erupted as Rousey laid on the canvas while Holm celebrated her knockout roughly 59 seconds into the second round.
"I have to say that everything that we worked on presented itself in the fight. Every kind of grab that she tried to get and clinch on the cage. I have not spent this much time in the gym before any fight in my life," Holm said after the historic win.
Holm's coaches Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn are famous strategists in the entire sport. As Holm's would say, ""I just felt like how could I not do this?" Holm said. "I have the best coaching from stand-up to grappling to wrestling. Look at this time right here; this right here is priceless....Everything we worked on happened tonight and that actually happened to be something we worked on, to try and angle the clinch." "I didn't want to kick her to the body because we didn't want her to grab onto us, and it just was there," Holm added.
On the other hand, Rousey was transported immediately to the hospital after the fight due to a split lip; thus she was not able to give a comment.
The fight was considered as historic as it marked the end of Rousey's bantamweight title ever since she signed with the UFC. It is also the first-ever recorded loss for Rousey's mixed martial arts career.
According to Fox Sports, Holm's straight punches were considered as her best weapon. "She popped Rousey continuously, and as the former champ's nose and mouth started to bleed, it was clear this was a much different fight than any she had been in before."
Holm showed poise and a picture-perfect strategy used to dismantle Rousey in less than six minutes," the Fox Sports report stated.
