It was called one of the biggest upsets in sports, let alone MMA history. Except that it wasn't an upset.
Holly Holm's second-round knockout of formerly thought to be invincible UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey was six minutes of complete domination by the challenger, who was not intimidated by the "baddest woman on the planet."
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Rousey simply falls into the same category as Mike Tyson (pre-Buster Douglas) and Tiger Woods (pre-marital infidelity publicity) -- her intimidation factor was as much a part of her dominance as her ability.
Had the two women entered the octagon as unknown fighters, watching their UFC 193 title bout would have given fans the distinct impression that the 34-year-old Holm was clearly the better athlete. The hype over Rousey helped make Holm a 12-1 underdog.
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Even UFC President Dana White lashed out at critics of Rousey's strategy of trying to pressure the former women's boxing champion.
"You know, it's funny because all the people that were talking smack about the fight, everybody thinks they're an expert and everybody thinks they know about fighting. Very few people really do," White said at the UFC 193 post-fight press conference, according to mmafighting.com. "If Ronda went out there and ran after [Holm] like a maniac and knocked her out? 'Ronda's the best ever. Ronda's this, that.' Ronda goes out and this happens tonight, 'the game plan was all wrong; this was all wrong.'
"It's easy to sit back and criticize when you're watching the fight," he continued. "To sit here now and question the game plan is just as stupid as the people who thought this wasn't (going to be) a good fight."
Rousey's actions before the fight suggested her mind may not have been in the right place, USA Today's For the Win reported. The now ex-champion had talked about wanting to disappear after this bout, she was getting involved with a movie role for a remake of "Roadhouse." She suggested only she could put up with the glare of the media spotlight and the Holm wouldn't want that. She transformed into the hunted, rather than the hunter.
And Holm, whom Rousey misjudged, both as a fighter and as an athlete dealing with pressure, took complete advantage.
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