And what did you think?
I’d love to hear from you guys and girls, particularly if it was your first time watching a UFC event.
I headed down to Melbourne to watch it live and it seems like it was this fairly huge cultural event. When I got to the airport to fly home I had forgotten to take off my press pass and random strangers were asking me about the fight.
I got into the office the next day and people who had never spoken to me about MMA before were asking me about the fight.
And it was a crazy fight. Almost certainly the greatest upset in UFC history, to the point where I watched Ronda lose in front of me and genuinely didn’t believe it was real.
My thoughts?
— Holly was well prepared. To deal with both the pressure and judo throws of Ronda Rousey. She defended the armbar well.
— Ronda thought she could box with Holly. She couldn’t. A bit of hubris there. By the time she realised that she was already exhausted and her takedowns had become telegraphed.
— Ronda’s mystique is gone, but the rematch is still going to be insane.
— Ronda has bad knees. I wonder if that makes it difficult for Ronda to train for anything longer than a three or four minute match?
What did you guys and girls think of the fight?
Comments
61 responses to “Off Topic: Who Watched Ronda Rousey Vs Holly Holm?”
Bet $20 on Holm with 9.71 to 1 odds. Fair to say I was pretty chuffed.
I should’ve bet more after the weigh-ins. Rousey looked unnerved whereas Holm was basically the Terminator.
I forgot that it was on, then I looked up the news online some time in the evening. I tried to watch it afterwards online and it was impossible.
True story!
Rousey’s gameplan of eating as many punches as possible without defending any was a bold strategy.
A strategy that immediately went south. I think she underestimated how hard Holm would punch. Even mid-way into the first round you could see that Rousey had a half-stunned look on her face. Rousey almost managed to pin Holm but unluckily for her Holm had obviously trained to evade Rousey’s grapple attempts and stay out of reach. Holm was able to rely on footwork, punching power and superior reach, leaving Rousey to chase after her ineffectually whilst eating rock hard punches when she left herself open.
https://youtu.be/AmSoDkXJ2aw?t=3m15s
Just as a matter of interest, how easy was it for a journalist from a mainly video-game site to get a press pass for a UFC event?
Given that the UFC has a vested interest in video games, I would assume it was not all too difficult.
Yeah, I’m wondering if it was EA that provided it.
Also having Wargaming.Net as a premier partner would be a great contributor to press pass availability.
I am wondering what sort of evidence is required that it’s going to contribute to something worthwhile. I mean, I work at Channel 7. Granted, I work in commercial scheduling but do THEY need to know that? 😉
Off topic here, but can you do me a solid? Let whomever it concerns know that scheduling commercials after almost every goal in AFL is extremely annoying and is the entire reason I will happily continue pay Foxtel extraordinary amounts of money, rather than watch Channel 7’s broadcast. Many others feel the same way.
I can appreciate that as a non-AFL watcher but sadly it’s almost all up to the companies themselves and their respective media people. Which state are we talking? I can tell the person who places the spots in accordance with the booking info? 😛
As one would expect, I am located in Victoria =P
Appreciate the quick reply. Channel 7’s customer service seems on point!
Done and done. I get the feeling they agree with you 100% but alas; we just have to do our jobs and move on 😛
I was there. The atmosphere before the fight was unbelievable, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced anything quite like it. Then after the fight the atmosphere had changed completely, a hush fell over the crowd. I was sitting there going “Oh my God!!!!! What just happened?” Best sporting event I’ve ever been to, very well organised and just an amazing card of fights. Hall v Whittaker was the closest to a video game fight I’ve ever seen. Hall is Dhalsim, not sure who Whittaker is. Worth every cent I spent on tickets and getting to Melbourne.
I had a feeling that Holm would win and I wish I put money on it. After that first round I felt like Ronda’s aura had dissipated completely. Lots of fun to watch and I can’t wait for the inevitable rematch because I feel like what happened should make Ronda a better fighter.
Hopefully she will respect her opponents a bit more. She’d gotten used to rushing in, eating a few punches and then dragging opponents to the floor for victory. I’d like to see her be a bit more like Genki Sudo was, teasing and testing opponents before picking his moment to take the fight to the ground.
I’ve never been so satisfied or cheered so loudly at a sporting event in my life. Being there to see that live is one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. I think it’s interesting that there seems to be a general perception that Ronda decided to strike with Holly, when that isn’t really the case. Ronda wanted nothing more than to clinch up and get the takedown, Holly just played her perfectly.
This breakdown is super great if you’re interested.
http://fightland.vice.com/blog/how-holly-holm-killed-queen-ronda-rousey
Thanks for that link, that was a great read. It explained the fight better than my own limited understanding of MMA ever could.
Jack Slack is the best of the best. Robin Black is also one worth checking out, though I haven’t seen his post 193 coverage yet.
Edit: It’s worth pointing out that Robin Black is one of the very few who picked Holly to win this fight.
Great article!
If it’s something that interests you I’d recommend bookmarking Jack Slack’s author page on Fightland. He usually does a pre and post event article for all UFC events, as well as for smaller organisations and some boxing/kickboxing events. His Killing the King series is fantastic, and perfectly outlined the way the both the Weidman/Silva and Barao/Dillashaw fights played out.
I went to our local club to watch it live.. wife and i decided to drop $20 at 4:1 odds on it going more than one round.. $80 win tyvm ladbrokes..
I was disappointed with the rousey game plan, i’m a fan.. i think she’s incredible and done some very good things for the sport in general as well as women in mma.. but she looked slow, outstepped, outsmarted and the end result was looking likely in round one. Holm looked super impressive – her footwork and control was extremely impressive!
can’t wait for the rematch tho!
Ronda bought into her own hype. After knocking out Bethe Coerreira she figured she could stand with anyone… lol… Never traded with a boxer obviously!!!
Ronda is such a bad sport it’s just nice to see her being lit up!!! Stay humble people!
I don’t think she was trying to stand with her, just she was up against a world class boxer who wouldn’t let her get inside for the judo takedown.
Nah – she was trying to get in and out… every time she tried to close any distance she ate a jab – Ronda can bullrush people – and she chose not to look for a TD until later in the first. She was tired and frustrated by then and that’s only because she chose to stand and trade. Yes she was trying to back her up into the fence and go for the clinch but she was NEVER going to do that with her hands!!! Just watch Holly circling off non stop – Ronda had nothing for her and only looked for the one takedown which in my opinion COMPLETELY broke Ronda when she shrugged it off
I’d have to watch a replay but I don’t recall her moving in and out. To me she was pressing forward basically the whole time with Holm angling off her not letting her get inside, and at the same time punishing her with straight lefts.
She was trying to get in and out. All that ended up was moving forward into stiff jabs ruining any momentum she may have had. If she wanted to keep pressing she would have pushed past some of those jabs – Someties to get on the inside you have to eat one or two. She was letting them stop her and trying to reset – suggesting to me she was quite happy keeping it standing for a while – either that or her TDs are that bad she just didnt see any angle at all…
Nah – she was trying to get in and out… every time she tried to close any distance she ate a jab – Ronda can bullrush people – and she chose not to look for a TD until later in the first. She was tired and frustrated by then and that’s only because she chose to stand and trade. Yes she was trying to back her up into the fence and go for the clinch but she was NEVER going to do that with her hands!!! Just watch Holly circling off non stop – Ronda had nothing for her and only looked for the one takedown which in my opinion COMPLETELY broke Ronda when she shrugged it off
Really enjoyed the card except for Struve V BigShow.
Noticed watching it live at a sports bar that the crowd seemed extremely quiet to other UFC events I have seen. Not sure if it was the size of the venue affecting the acoustics or just everybody politely sitting there, only cheering when something ‘exciting’ happened?
Poor tactics from Rousey who will definitely change it up for the rematch you’d suspect.
On a side note for some reason my missus wanted to put a bet on for Holm to KO Rousey in the second round. We thought Rousey would win but the odds were great. I put a cheeky $5 as it was paying 23/1. You do the maths! (Seriously, I’m not good at maths. You do it.) Insert smiley face thanks Siri.
Yeah, the Struve fight was a dud, which was pretty disappointing. I was really looking forward to that one, I like Skyscraper.
The undercard fight between Walsh and Kennedy was also pretty terrible, but otherwise it was a good show. Ben Nguyen and Kyle Noke put on terrific performances that sadly got lost in all the excitement over the main event.
If Struve could just learn to jab and fight tall he’d be a hundred times better than he is now. I think Jackson-Wink or Tristar could work wonders with him.
I think the difference in volume of the crowd was just the casual fans- it was also noticeable on the broadcast and Joe pointed it out multiple times! Someone like Rousey always brings out the new fans who jumped on the bandwagon and they just really dont get it most of the time!
I don’t really go for MMA and never really got the Rousey hype, but I heard she lost (and saw the gifs of the knockout kick everywhere on the interwebs). I actually watched a clip of the actual fight last night and as someone who doesn’t watch and therefore probably can’t fully appreciate combat sports like boxing/MMA, I nonetheless was stunned with Holm’s boxing ability. I mean, she had an answer for every move Rousey made. Whatever Rousey tried to do, Holm had a fist waiting for her face. It really seemed like Holm was on a whole other level compared to the brutal steamrollering Rousey has been doling out to her string of unfortunate opponents.
Holm having a punch for everything really shows why she’s considered one of the best female welterweight boxers of all time!
I was there. It was a lot of fun, although I have to say I’m almost undecided as to whether I prefer just heading down to the pub to actually attending.
The arena was freaking huge, and honestly felt kind of dead. You don’t hear all the commentary and ring noises when you’re there in person, either, unless you tune in with a radio.
All in all the pub is usually more packed, has a better atmosphere, and a more “complete” experience with regards to commentary etc. I honestly don’t know if I’ll ever be attending live again.
All I know is that the internet and ‘professionals’ in the scene immediately started taunting and mocking her.
Yeah I found that pretty disappointing to be honest. Sure, the not touching gloves thing at the start was bad sportsmanship, and Holly frankly made her look like an amateur when she tried to stand and trade, but she’s still a great fighter who’s done a hell of a lot for her sport in a short time.
I also don’t really get the whole attack on her for not being “humble”. She’s a fighter for God’s sake. None of the greats of any fighting code were ever humble. There’s a difference between being a bit of an asshole and a clown (like Mundine), and being cocky because you know you’re great. She was the undefeated champ, she’d earned the right to be cocky IMO. Then Holly gave her a savage reality check.
The important thing for me is that without Ronda most of us wouldn’t even know Holly existed. And that in of itself would be a damn shame, because she was a beautiful boxer to watch go to work, and completely deserves the accolades she’s received.
It’s what bugs me a lot about professionalism in most areas. You only matter when you’re the top.
I would like to know how many of the people that attacked Rousey for not being humble also supported Mayweather over Pacquiao.
Honest question Mark, how come this is considered Off-Topic, but the 6 or 7 other articles about the fight aren’t considered off topic?
i mean, i know there’s a big crossover of UFC fans and video game players, and Rousey herself is a Pokemon fan, i don’t see why we needed so many articles about it on a Video Games/Anime themed news site.
I know i’m sounding a bit childish “I DONT WANT UFC ON A NEWS SITE I DON’T OWN OR CONTROL THE CONTENT” but one or two articles i can handle, but the constant flood over the week annoyed me a bit.
anyway, everyone still enjoy UFC, i can’t stand it, but i’m not the type of person to hate on someone for what they like. Hell i enjoy wrestling, i can’t say shit haha.
Butthurt?! Do we need articles about politics on here?! Not really but when they have some relation to gaming or the internet then we may have a vested interest.
If it gets clicks, then the audience is reading it. This suggests the demographic is interested in said theme(UFC) and will continue to be. Just get over it, It’s just trends mate!
I used to have to source all of my MMA news from MMAmania.com and now i cant escape the UFC on the net so I agree with you to an extent as to the over exposure – lol it used to be MY thing and now everyone has an opinion on it! 😉
But I am a bit tired of people saying “but this is a game website”. UFC fighters love gaming, there is a UFC game, XBox is a big UFC sponsor, fighting has always featured in gaming and we are all aware of what a fight looks like… It kinda fits to me…
i’m not really butt hurt haha just voicing an opinion, i know i can just ignore the articles if i don’t like them.
when the politics affects gaming then yes, it should be on here, however this fight in particular had nothing to do with it.
As you said, you’ve got a website were you can go to for your MMA news, and as you said, it’s pretty hard to get away from news about it, my facebook was covered in news about the fight, and seeing more about it here annoyed me, i know it’s petty, but it does just annoy me.
once again, i don’t mind the occasional UFC article, Mark wrote a good one yesterday, it’s just having so many in a short period of time got on my nerves, and considering Mark deemed this post off-topic, but the other articles aren’t considered off-topic confused me.
But the thing is, it is a game website, and if an MMA website did 5 articles on the release of Fallout 4, people would probably say “But this is a MMA website”
you’re allowed to be passionate about UFC and i wish you the very best in it, however you have to realise that even though you are right in that a lot of UFC fans like video games, you are still in the minority, and the majority would rather have a website about video games stick to video games.
Grandmaster butt funck,
Feel free to go and read IGN.com if you want a gaming only website… If you want something that is for the Otaku, then come here – you forget where Kotaku came from Butt Funck San
Yeah Otaku culture, which is video games and anime….
But you’ve clearly shown you have the mental capacity of a 6 year old, and I’m beating my head against a brick wall talking to you.
Have fun enjoying MMA 🙂
Ahh yes the old mental capacity comment. You are a little closed off – You like what you like but dont want to like what others like – This is ok. But Otaku has moved on from just being about anime and video games – it is simply a term for people with obsessive interests and it has branched out into a bunch of categories which have nothing to do with games…
But then again – I have the mental capacity of a 6 year old i couldnt possibly know something you dont 😉
I think B-Funk’s apparent (but totally not) ‘little closed off’ comment is in relation to you calling him “butt funck” for no real reason. He presented sound, calm and reasonable points and was met with childish name calling. I mean, I could be totally wrong, but it strikes me that way 🙂
I’m personally fine with UFC articles being posted here but can 100% understand people wanting non-gaming stuff to go elsewhere (and I wouldn’t be surprised if Mark went off to work on a Gawker Fight Club news site). I mean, Kotaku is sold as a gaming news site. But you’re right about otaku being non-anime/game specific 🙂
I think Butt Funck needs to learn to have a sense of humour about himself…
Just an honest question… If someone calls you a wanker for no real reason, do you care?
That’s really the issue here 😉
@scarnon Being called a wanker would depend on the context and if I knew the person. I have been a security guard and a prison guard so I’m used to be called stuff a lot worse than that. But if some random called me it for no reason and in the wrong context I might take offense. Maybe.
You might. Maybe. Yeah so water off a duck’s back right?!
I made one slight slur based on this guy’s name and he began with the “6 year old mental capacity” all while admitting he sounded childish in the first post. He also became racist when putting me in a minority.
I hear a lot of Wah wah wah from Grandmother butt funck but not much sense… I’m scared his mum’s going to get on here now I bet she’s already heard all about it 😉
if you consider me closed off then you have a victim complex, try and point out at any time that i said that it is wrong for people to like MMA? and what was your reply when i said that you should be passionate about what you like? Name Calling? So sorry for thinking that this isn’t how a grown adult would respond to someone with a different opinion.
Also, why should i be forced to like something that i don’t enjoy? I’m always going to have my criticisms of MMA, but you know what? you have the right to ignore me!
As for your Otaku comment, it has changed, to various other Japanese culture sub-sections of which i don’t think UFC counts, and yeah sure you can just say you are an MMA Otaku, but that still doesn’t change what the original word means, which is the one this site is based on.
okay, and finally for the last nail in the coffin of this argument, go to the home page, and read what’s on the title bar.
seriously man, i’m not out to get you, i sincerely meant that you should enjoy MMA all you want, and i’ll go on not liking at, and it wont affect you in the slightest! I just wanted to voice a concern about a website i like getting a bit too off topic for my tastes, that’s all, i never wanted to offend anyone, and i’ll apologise for the mental capacity joke, but come on man, Grandmaster butt funck???? Seriously? If you want people to take you seriously, i’d recommend keeping out the childish name calling.
You ever heard the words “Pride Never Die”???
It would be considered an Otaku thing these days…
Grandmother Butt Funck – keep on getting worked up mate – I’m here all day 🙂
@scarnon
i’m actually having a great time talking to you, no way am i worked up, i’m actually amazed people like you really do exist, it feels like you are only a few comments away from challenging me to a fight in real life, yet i’m apparently the worked up one haha.
i feel bad for f4ction, who is capable of reason, because people like you are the reason why a lot of people see MMA fans as low brow idiots, which i know isn’t true, i know a lot of great people who like MMA, but you are really enforcing the stereotype.
Sorry about calling you an idiot though, but mate it’s just a joke laugh at yourself a bit 😉
and please keep digging yourself a bigger hole with the butt funk stuff, it’s hilarious.
No offense taken – i was bored. And i had fun. A lot of people get very serious here like it is our responsibility to act like mature adults… Meh – that’s not why i play games and browse the internet! lol I have kids and a wife to have adult time with 😉
have an awesome day butt funck
Such a little child scarnon.
Ooooop here’s another one…
What part exactly makes me such a “little” child? Having a joke? Grow up Mastercater
Didn’t watch it, didn’t know it was on. Learned the little bit about it that I do know from Kotaku.
I do wish Gawker would just create a fight-club site, I do find it annoying that gaming articles are often just a few words, and the UFC articles are well written, often very long pieces, it makes me feel that the journalists working on Kotaku put more effort into their UFC articles than their gaming ones, and I primarily come here for gaming articles.