''UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm'' was a
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
event held on 14 November 2015,
at
Etihad Stadium
The City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England, also known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is the home of Premier League club Manchester City F.C., with a domestic football capacity of 53,400, making it the 6th-largest ...
in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. It was the most attended UFC event in the history of the company at the time, with 56,214 people filling the stadium. Although
Ronda Rousey
Ronda Jean Rousey (; born February 1, 1987) is an American professional wrestler, actress, former judoka and mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand and is the current SmackDown Women’s ...
was heavily favored to defeat
Holly Holm
Holly Rene Holm (born October 17, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist, who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. She is the former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion, and a former professional boxer. She was a multiple-time wor ...
, Holm gave Rousey her first career defeat.
Background
The event was the first that the promotion has held in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
.
Docklands Stadium
Docklands Stadium, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as Marvel Stadium, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the Docklands area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Construction started in October 1997 and was ...
was the third
stadium venue to host a UFC event after
UFC 129
''UFC 129: St-Pierre vs. Shields'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday, April 30, 2011 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Background
The event was the sixth that the UFC has hosted in ...
at the
Rogers Centre
Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a multi-purpose retractable roof stadium in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, it ...
in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and
UFC on Fox: Gustafsson vs. Johnson held at
Tele2 Arena
The Stockholmsarenan, known as the Tele2 Arena for sponsorship reasons, is a retractable roof multi-purpose stadium in Stockholm Globe City, Johanneshov, just south of Stockholm City Centre, Sweden. It is used mostly for concerts and football m ...
in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
.
The event was initially expected to be headlined by a
UFC Welterweight Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
bout between current champion
Robbie Lawler
Robert Lawler (born March 20, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist who has been competing since 2001. He is the former UFC Welterweight Champion, former EliteXC Middleweight Champion, and has formerly competed in Strikeforce, ...
and
Carlos Condit
Carlos Joseph Condit (born April 26, 1984) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. He formerly competed in the Welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was the former Interim UFC Welterweight C ...
, a former
WEC Welterweight Champion and former interim UFC Welterweight Champion. However, the bout was removed from the event after Lawler suffered a thumb injury stemming back from his high school wrestling career. Subsequently, a
UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
bout between then champion
Ronda Rousey
Ronda Jean Rousey (; born February 1, 1987) is an American professional wrestler, actress, former judoka and mixed martial artist. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand and is the current SmackDown Women’s ...
and former 18-time
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
world champion in three weight classes
Holly Holm
Holly Rene Holm (born October 17, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist, who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. She is the former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion, and a former professional boxer. She was a multiple-time wor ...
, originally scheduled for
UFC 195
''UFC 195: Lawler vs. Condit'' was a mixed martial arts event held on January 2, 2016, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Background
The event was expected to feature a UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship bout between then-unde ...
, was announced as the new headliner for this event. The Lawler/Condit bout was eventually rescheduled to UFC 195.
Co-featured at the event was a
UFC Women's Strawweight Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships.
Historical notes
At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...
bout between current champion
Joanna Jędrzejczyk
Joanna Jędrzejczyk (; born August 18, 1987) is a Polish former professional mixed martial artist and Muay Thai kickboxer. She has been called the greatest female strawweight mixed martial artist of all time, including by Daniel Cormier, who cred ...
and
Valérie Létourneau
Valérie Létourneau (born April 29, 1983) is a Canadian mixed martial artist who competes in the Women's Flyweight division for Bellator MMA.
Mixed martial arts career
Létourneau made her MMA debut March 31, 2007 with TKO win over Tannaya H ...
.
Brazilian fighters
William Macario
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
and Ricardo Abreu were expected to face
Brendan O'Reilly
Brendan O'Reilly (14 May 1929 – 1 April 2001) was an Irish Selected Olympic high jumper, broadcaster, journalist, actor, singer and songwriter (best known for the 'Ballad of Michael Collins' and the Olympic song, 'Let the Nations Play'. He i ...
and
Daniel Kelly respectively at the event. However, both fighters pulled out of their bouts in late September citing injury and were replaced by
James Moontasri
James Moontasri ( th, เจมส์ มูลทาศรี; born April 10, 1988) is a retired German-born American mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division. Moontasri has competed in RFA and is currently signed with the ...
and Steve Montgomery. In turn, O'Reilly pulled out of his bout on 6 November citing an injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer Anton Zafir.
Michael Bisping
Michael Gavin Joseph Bisping (; born 28 February 1979) is an English actor, sports analyst, commentator and retired mixed martial artist, who competed in the Middleweight and Light Heavyweight division of the UFC. A professional competitor ...
was expected to face
Robert Whittaker at the event. However, Bisping pulled out of the bout on 30 September citing an elbow injury and was replaced by
Uriah Hall.
Rousey vs. Holm fight
Ronda Rousey began the Women's Bantamweight bout aggressively. Holly Holm, with her boxing ability, and from her
southpaw stance
In boxing and some other sports, a southpaw stance is where the boxer has the right hand and the right foot forward, leading with right jabs, and following with a left cross right hook. It is the normal stance for a left-handed boxer. The corres ...
, tagged Rousey repeatedly with her left hand while controlling the distance. Rousey attempted several
clinches through the round, including an attempted
armbar
An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyper-extends the arm is known as an armbar, and it includes the traditional armbar, pr ...
, but none had a decisive outcome. By the end of the first round, Rousey was bloodied and breathing heavily, with commentators describing the round as the first she had ever lost in her MMA career.
Round two followed a similar pattern to the first, with Rousey trying to close the distance but being unable to, frustrated by Holm's stick and move strategy. Rousey stumbled forward after taking a straight left to her chin, and while rising, Holm connected with a kick to the side of Rousey's neck, knocking her out. Holm pounced on the fallen Rousey, causing referee Herb Dean to end the bout.
[
MMA website ]Sherdog
Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It also has many forums and discussion pages on the many topics of MMA like records, promotions, etc. The site is a member of the CraveOnline network and provides MM ...
called the fight their Upset of the Year for 2015.
Jędrzejczyk vs. Létourneau fight
In round one, both fighters exchanged punches at each other. Jędrzejczyk then attempted a combination via a kick, however Létourneau was able to grab Jędrzejczyk's leg and take her down. Jędrzejczyk also landed a front kick to the face that made Létourneau walk unsteadily for a few seconds. The two fighters continued exchanging shots at one another for the rest of the round.
Just like the first round, both fighters began the second by exchanging numerous punches. Jędrzejczyk attempted a kick on Létourneau, but Létourneau was able to block the kick, allowing her to punch Jędrzejczyk numerous times. Létourneau later had Jędrzejczyk pinned against the cage, however Jędrzejczyk was able to throw numerous elbow strikes at Létourneau. They continued to exchange shots throughout the round, with Jędrzejczyk throwing more combinations towards the end of the round.[
In round three, Létourneau began by throwing a combination. Jędrzejczyk then proceeded to throw some leg kicks, as well as front kicks. Létourneau was showing a bit of tiredness at this point, which Jędrzejczyk took advantage of. Jędrzejczyk chopped Létourneau's lead leg. Along with this, both Létourneau's right eye and leg were swelling. The round finished with Jędrzejczyk doing both a combination and a leg kick.][
Jędrzejczyk started round four with a left jab on Létourneau. Létourneau fought back, hitting a couple of punches and kicks to the body. Despite this, Jędrzejczyk continued to hit left jabs on Létourneau. Jędrzejczyk hit numerous punches throughout the rest of the round, including numerous combinations towards the end of the round.][
In the final round, both fighters went straight at each other. Jędrzejczyk did numerous leg kicks on Létourneau. Létourneau was able to hit more shots on Jędrzejczyk, however, Jędrzejczyk was throwing various different shots.][
The judges scored the fight 49–46, 49–46, and 50–45, unanimously in favor of Jędrzejczyk.
]
Other fights
In a rematch of heavyweights, Mark Hunt
Mark Richard Hunt (born 23 March 1974) is a New Zealand former mixed martial artist and kickboxer of Samoan descent, currently living in Sydney, Australia. Hunt competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) until 2018 and was the winn ...
finished Antônio Silva via TKO in round one with a right straight that knocked him to his knees and a follow-up left hook.
Kyle Noke
Kyle Noke (born 18 March 1980) is an Australian retired mixed martial artist who competed as a Welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2002, Noke has also fought for EliteXC.
Background
Noke, origina ...
defeated Peter Sobotta
Peter Sobotta (born January 11, 1987) is a retired Polish-born German professional mixed martial artist, who fought in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2004, Sobotta has also f ...
via TKO in round one of their welterweight bout with a front kick and a flurry of follow up punches.
Results
Bonus awards
The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses:
*Fight of the Night: Holly Holm vs. Ronda Rousey
*Performance of the Night: Holly Holm and Kyle Noke
Reactions
UFC president Dana White
Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...
commented on the Rousey vs. Holm fight, stating "This is a fight. This is what happens", then going on to state "All the greats eventually go down one day". White also said that "there will absolutely be a rematch." Joe Rogan
Joseph James Rogan (born August 11, 1967) is an American UFC
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly ...
, color-commentator for the UFC, stated Holm's win is "by far the biggest upset in UFC history."
See also
* 2015 in UFC
*List of UFC events
This is a list of events held and scheduled by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. UFC's first event, UFC 1, took place on November 12, 1993. Each UFC event contains several fight ...
*Mixed martial arts in Australia
Mixed martial arts (MMA) has developed in Australia from a wide cross-section of sporting and martial arts disciplines to become the most popular combat sport in Australia.
History
The influence traditional martial arts, Olympic wrestling and B ...
References
{{UFC Events
2015 in Australian sport
2015 in mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts in Australia
Sports competitions in Melbourne
Ultimate Fighting Championship events
November 2015 sports events in Australia