It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost a decade since Holly Holm defeated Ronda Rousey and changed the face of women’s MMA at UFC 193. Rousey famously took the female divisions of the UFC to new heights with her devastatingly diverse approach to MMA. However, she was also praised for popularizing trash-talking in the UFC – an aspect that helped her transition successfully into WWE and film roles.
All too aware of Rousey’s way with words, flyweight fighter Tracy Cortez was more than happy to give ‘Rowdy’ a taste of her own medicine, specifically targeting her devastating TKO loss to Holm in 2015.
Heading into the Holm bout, Rousey had left a trail of destruction in her wake. 12 and 0, she had only been taken beyond the first round once: a three-round victory via submission over Miesha Tate. She was the undeniable favorite, with many expecting another first-round victory. But it seemed as if Holly Holm hadn’t read Ronda’s script.
Holm’s powerful one-two combo in round two – a disarming left to the chin followed by a high kick to the neck knocked Rousey unconscious, and became a part of MMA folklore. Speaking to Rampage Jackson and Bear Degidio on the Jaxxon Podcast, flyweight #10 Cortez had nothing but praise for Holm’s performance in the memorable UFC 193 headliner.
“Holly Holm, she nailed it, just like she kept her distance. She did what she did,” Cortez said. However, she followed it up less than encouraging words for Rousey’s striking in the bout.
“I don’t think she had the best striking,” judged Cortez, adding, “I would probably do what Holly Holm did.”
The brutal assessment of Rousey‘s shock loss brought the laughs out of Degidio and Jackson, with the latter responding enthusiastically. “The disrespect, wow! That was just nasty,” chuckled Jackson.
“Very direct,” added Degidio, noting, “Nothing wrong with what you said, but very direct.”
Notably, years after the loss, Rousey famously claimed to have walked into the octagon with pre-existing injuries.
Rousey claims weight cut and concussions lost Holm fight
In the postmortem of her loss to Holm that she felt far from invincible heading into the fight. In an interview with YouTube personality Valeria Lipovetsky, the former bantamweight champion revealed that she was concussed heading into the Holly Holm fight.
“I was out on my feet for the entire fight,” admitted Rousey.
“I literally came into that fight concussed from slipping down some stairs already after all these years of concussions. Then I had an absolutely terrible weight cut, which means you have less fluid in your brain to protect it,” she added.
Rousey also claims that even though she tried to brave the odds, she just couldn’t be there 100%- cognitively speaking.
Howecer, speaking at a UFC 300 media day last year, Holm seemingly had no time for Rousey’s excuses.
“You go back and look at some of my boxing fights and some of the things that I’ve done, I’ve definitely had some concussions. I’ll never sit here and use that as an excuse for any loss. I think that it’s probably just hard for her to really want to admit that I was the better fighter,” the ‘Preacher’s Daughter’ noted.
Rousey would fight just one more time in the UFC. Her return 13 months later, a loss against Amanda Nunes, was over in just 48 seconds. It was a tragic way to bring the curtain down on a glittering career.
