I think the bottom line is Ronda didn't know what to do after her normal blitz tactics didn't work. She continued to eat left hands and the few times she got in close Holm remained calm and played it smart. It didn't help matters that her corner told her she was doing a great job, gave no technical advice on slowing down/avoiding the straight left, and sent her back out there to wildly pursue Holm again. Its was ridiculous how she couldn't/wouldn't adjust her strategy. I think if Ronda wants to make a come back and get better she needs a real camp and a real coach to push her and build her stand up skills. If you watch her work the mits or even in fights she has zero head movement. In the end this fight will either make or break Ronda. She will either use it to rise out of the ashes and become better than ever, or she will completely fall apart mentally.
I honestly had a feeling this would happen. I know everyone says that, but I did. Maybe it's cause I just watched Rocky 3 and this reminds me of that so much... Anyone remember Rocky 3? Rocky loses the "eye of the tiger" and ends up getting his butt handed to him by Clubber Lang? Ronda had her head all over the place before this fight, content knowing she was better than any other female fighter in the world. On the technical side Sama is 100% right. Ronda had only one tactic: run at her furiously and take her down quickly. When that didn't work she didn't know what to do and started eating punches from Holm who is a tremendous boxer. I love Ronda and it was saddening to see that happen. Now she either refines her skills and becomes a better fighter or she fades out and we never see her again. I hope it's the former. She deserves a rematch after being so thoroughly humbled.
I think she goes back and gets better, and Women's MMA gets a HUGE shot in the arm from the upcoming trilogy
Wow!! Holly freaking Holm-Douglas-Hollyfield-Clay-Ali. (Tyson, Liston, Foreman..... monsters stood up to and butts' kicked by the underdogs). She was stronger and in better shape, certainly a much finer boxer who could use her legs to both move AND strike. Also....showing her own strength she dared to take Ronda twice down to the mat. Kingsama with the call: I think the bottom line is Ronda didn't know what to do after her normal blitz tactics didn't work. She continued to eat left hands and the few times she got in close Holm remained calm and played it smart. It didn't help matters that her corner told her she was doing a great job, gave no technical advice on slowing down/avoiding the straight left, and sent her back out there to wildly pursue Holm again. Its was ridiculous how she couldn't/wouldn't adjust her strategy. I think if Ronda wants to make a come back and get better she needs a real camp and a real coach to push her and build her stand up skills. If you watch her work the mits or even in fights she has zero head movement. In the end this fight will either make or break Ronda. She will either use it to rise out of the ashes and become better than ever, or she will completely fall apart mentally. Will be interesting to see what happens with these 3 fighters (Cyborg in mix). First thing is like said above Rousey needs new trainers and corner. They were pathetic.
I think Ronda could easily head to Ceasar Gracie's with the Diaz boys, Melendez, etc. She is already friends with them, they have tremendous coaches there, are always in great condition, and are half crazy like her.
Are any of them the boxing and defense savants that Atlas is? Just asking don't know them. But what a hell of a job he did with Tim Bradley. Totally different quality boxer in that recent huge win...... by the accounts I read. His problem was getting hit way to often, and he was fighting a good boxer and according to reports he outworked and outboxed him. Well done Teddy. The guy in Cus D'amato's training camp who put a freaking pistol up to young Iron Mike Tyson's head. S.T.U.D.
Issue with traditional boxing defense is it no good in MMA. Foot work is bad as weight goes on front foot leaving you wide open for leg kicks and take downs.
Seeing how Ronda was acting leading up to the fight, I felt like she was off and not acting like her normal self. She was acting like she wanted to fight Holms at the weigh-ins and Holms was the calm one. Then when they were about to fight Ronda wouldn't touch gloves. All the animosity made sense when she was fighting Betch, but Holms hadn't done anything to her as far as I know, so the way Ronda was acting just signaled to me that she was scared and trying to psych herself. Trying to get in her right mind to win. I don't think Ronda did everything she could to take Holms down. She could have tried to take it to the mat a lot more often than she did, but I think she wanted to prove something to herself by trying to stand and trade punches with Holmes. Not a good idea.
Rousey fought a dumb fight. You don't go toe to toe with a champ boxer. Fight her on the ground, use your strengths.
Agreed. Not to mention her boxing technique was awful. She was taking shots to the face like it was a Rocky movie. No protection whatsoever. She looked like a brawler and Holm looked like a fighter.
I'm a big fan of Ronda, but she's been acting "off" lately. Calling out anyone and everyone, from Bieber to Kim K. and I agree, I don't know of anything Holm did either. Maybe she was just trying to sell the fight, which is understandable. But other than that, I don't know why she treated her the way she did. What's wrong with touching gloves? I agree with others. She fought a horrible fight. She couldn't get her jab to connect and was getting lit up every time she threw it. Fake, move, throw a combo, rush her, anything different than what she did for 1 1/2 rounds.
She has a similar mentality to John Jones IMO. Whatever his opponent's strength is, that's what he would try to use against them in order to prove he can beat you at your own game. I truly think Ronda could have planned to take the match to the ground more, but she wanted to try to beat Holms at her own game. Big mistake. Ronda's standup game is much improved, but Holms is an elite boxer. Eventually a great jujitsu fighter will be able to get you on the ground and it will probably be over, but not if they take shots like Ronda did trying to prove her standup is better than it really is.
I was hoping for Holmes to ko Ronda, so I was thrilled, but I'm going to defend her. Ronda has been talking delusional lately and I think she truly thought she had good enough boxing to beat holly at her own game. She didn't want to take her down at all in that first round. she wanted to try to box with her. After about 15 hard lefts to the mouth, Ronda was visibly dazed and then her takedown attempts were sloppy and off balance. In the rematch, if Ronda plans for 100% trying to get things on the mat, she wins.