UFC 193 |Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm

Lol,yeah, everyone and their mother's were claiming that she could not only beat Floyd in a cage, but also some top UFC male fighters. Yet she wouldn't even face Cyborg at a mere 5 lbs north (I guess we now know why). UFC hype machine is very strong considering she basically only beat soccer moms and bull dykes who trained on the side to lose weight (yeah, I know some of her opponents went to the Olympics, but Olympic caliber for women wrestling is still pretty low). Don't get me wrong, she's still a decent fighter, just nowhere near as close as the UFC (and it gullible fans) would have lead you to believe.

 

Does this make us reconsider the usefulness of boxing (as your main base) in MMA ??? I've alway's argued that top boxer (not washed up fools or never was) have an excellent sense of distance which could help them negate wrestling in a big way. This is no definitive proof but at least shows that top boxers, with a bit of cross training, would be huge factors in MMA, and not some name stepping stones most UFC fans thought.

 

Schiavello is funny, but in a low level circus atmoshpere kind of way. On an important stage, he'd feel out of place. My personnal favorite is : " He's got that virgin defense, nothing penetrate" and the "the big kabosh" classic.

 

I don't think this fight proves anything as far as a boxing base versus a wrestling base. Ronda isn't a wrestler. I've never seen her shoot a single leg or double leg in her entire career. It's easier to control distance against the judo base which requires clinch work to get a take down.

It will be very interesting to see if Holm can avoid the takedowns of good wrestlers like Tate or McMann. That's a completely different animal.

That being said, footwork is the most primitive part of MMA striking in my opinion. Being able to move, avoid takedowns yet stay on balance to throw effective shots is a rare ability among MMA fighters.

But let's be clear, the idea of a top boxer putting in a "bit of cross training" will NOT make them huge factors in MMA. The most gifted boxer in the world won't be able to avoid the takedowns of guys like Hendricks, GSP, Cormier, etc with just a "bit of cross training".

 

I dunno dude...I think Holm's destruction of Rousey proved otherwise.

Yes, from what you say, there's a distinction between wrestling and judo...though with my limited understanding of martial arts I don't know what the big distinction is. But the point is that controlling the space is the most important part of combat and boxers are more experienced in that. Learning techniques to avoid different types of takedowns is a relatively quick thing to learn. Learning techniques to avoid armbars etc would be relatively quick also. I'm not saying a boxer would ever be a proficient wrestler...but they have a chance to learn how to avoid being put into grappling situations....and if they can minimize those things they'd have a huge advantage over grapplers or any other MMA person.

Of course...learning to kick in addition to punching would be fundamentally important also.

 

Holly Holm is better at boxing and kick boxing than Ronda and Ronda tried to prove otherwise. It was a horrible strategy. Sure, it might have worked and made Rousey look all the more unbeatable, but it was stupid to try it. Look at how damned tight she was. It was toughman esque. She really seemed to let the hype get to her head. I suppose when people have you beating top 10 men in your division with a straight face that will happen, but it shouldn't have. She should have known better.

Holm is good, but she's really no better than a lot of the opponents Rousey has walked through. Her reign won't last that long, I'd guess. She might get past Ronda in a rematch (I'd still lean Rousey), but she'll get out mma'd by one of the others soon enough.

We get Schiavello on AXS tv in the USA. He does Resurrection Fighting and Legacy shows and has an interview show called The Voice Vs. He is matched up with Pat Milletich and they are a good combination. His schtick is contrived, but he pulls it off well enough.

Rousey could easily go on to be the dominant fighter she seemed. But, she will need to have the right mental toughness and not all fighters can handle a loss. We'll see.

 

Her supporters keep saying this, but it's baloney. Ronda wasn't trying to box with her at all...Ronda was exherting pressure and trying to close the distance ALL THE TIME..trying to get close enough to clinch and use Judo. Ronda didn't throw ONE kick and never threw a jab. She wasn't boxing or kickboxing at all. She was trying to force a judo fight but Holm was great at controlling the distance and preventing her from getting inside by potshotting her from distance and hitting her with perfectly timed straight lefts as she got close.

That's what happened. Ronda was simply outboxed, outsmarted and exposed.

 

Someone should have shared this with Rousey.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHwPBTDDp00

 

In fact....Ronda's refusal to use boxing/Kickboxing is largely why she lost, to tell the truth. She trued to close the distance without jabbing or kicking her way inside. A competent boxer knows that the only safe way to close distance is to jab your way in. Ronda just came face first....hellbent on just grabbing or landing a fight ending haymaker hook. You can't fight that way against an accomplished boxer. They'll potshot you to death and that's what Holm did. Death by 15 straight lefts (and kicks)!

 

Hopkins is a professor of boxing. If I were fighting I'd want him to be my trainer. There's a reason why he can go the distance with one of the most dangerous lightheavyweights in history at age 49.

 

Nonsense. Rousey doesn't have to lead with a jab, kick, or any of that to get past a girl striker. You can bull rush, grab on, and just do what it takes to get it to the ground. I don't like the 'she's a judo girl, not a wrestler' excuse, either. Judo is grappling. Its throws are based on being able to grab clothes, but it's very similar to wrestling and gives Rousey a huge advantage over someone like Holm if she wants to get it to the ground.

As it was, Rousey made a few attempts to get it to the ground after she was tired and Holm was good enough to stop her. That doesn't happen if Rousey fought smart from the beginning.

Rousey is exposed now? Who do you pick to beat her? Godfather is already all in with Tate, and that has gained a more evidence than it had previously, but I'm not going to dismiss everything because of this one, stupidly fought, fight.

 

She's not stopping Ronda's clinch game if Ronda isn't already a wounded bull. We haven't seen it, but surely Ronda has some leg lock game that should could have gone to when they were standing, don't you think?

 

But that's what she was trying to do, which is my point. She was bull rushing, but Holm was using her footwork to create distance...stepping back and countering, moving side to side and throwing lead left hands to keep Ronda honest. If Ronda had a more patient approach and using strikes as she came in she would have have better success in closing the gap.

 

Yes, exposed. Not saying she's not a good fighter, but she's exposed in the sense that she's not an all round fighter. She's one dimensional (can't strike to save her life) and is certainly NOT this greatest female athlete ever shit that the UFC was trying to portray her as.

 

I agree. She still managed to close the gap regardless.

But what I'm saying is this, and I'm sure you can agree, she paid a heavy price to close the gap. She was eating punches and they took a heavy toll on her conditioning as early as the first minute. As such..as the fight progressed she presented less and less danger even if she closed the gap, because by that point Holly was increasingly the much stronger of the two.

 

And her schedule. The fighters that were hunting Ronda weren't making movies, commercials, magazine covers and appearing on every talk show known to man. I think Ronda enjoys the celebrity status more than she likes the sport/competition. That will get you spanked every time in combat sports.