Ronda Rousey was clear before her seventh title defense: this wasn’t going to play out the way her opponent planned.
Rousey has been warned against making a return, with some saying the game has moved on since she last competed.
She wasn’t just a pioneer for women’s MMA; she was also far ahead of the competition during her dominant run as champion.
Holly Holm’s knockout win at UFC 193 did more than end one of the sport’s most memorable title reigns.
It marked a shift in momentum, with Rousey unable to counter an approach she knew was coming. That night, the fight game moved in a different direction.
Ronda Rousey knew what Holly Holm would try at UFC 193 – but still couldn’t stop it
The reigning UFC bantamweight champion, Kayla Harrison, is building her legacy on a strong judo foundation, aiming to become the greatest female mixed martial artist of all time.
Before Harrison’s rise, Ronda Rousey had already shown how effective a grappling-heavy style could be, using her judo background to dominate her early opponents.
But when that approach stopped working as reliably, it exposed some real gaps in her overall game. That became clear during the first loss of her career.
Rousey may have acknowledged that she abandoned her plan early in the fight. Even so, she was fully aware of what Holm would attempt.
A month before defending her title against Holly Holm at UFC 193, Rousey appeared on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’ and outlined exactly what would happen in their fight.
“This one’s gonna be a much longer fight… She’s the type of fighter that you have to be very patient with,” Rousey stated. “I feel like she’s going to try and keep distance and keep far away from me and get me frustrated to a point where I’ll make a mistake and she can try and kick me in the head but it’s not going to go like that. Not the way that she wants.”
Ronda Rousey had every reason to back herself before UFC 193
In the lead-up to UFC 193, Ronda Rousey appeared on a late-night talk show and didn’t hold back in praising Holly Holm.
The reigning champion recognised that Holm’s approach could pose her toughest challenge yet, but up until then, she hadn’t really faced any major setbacks inside the Octagon.
Her previous four title defences had all wrapped up in the first round, with only one of those fights lasting beyond the opening minute.
“If I make the fight fast, that means I like you,” Rousey said during a 2015 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
“That’s me at my most merciful. She got to go home with a payment to go buy a house. She had a great night if you think about it. But, with this next chick, who I don’t like, it’s not going to be like that. She’s going to walk out looking different than she did walking in.”
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