Sherdog.com’s 2015 Beatdown of the Year

3. Holly Holm vs. Ronda Rousey
UFC 193
Saturday, Nov. 14
Etihad Stadium | Melbourne, Australia
The greatest moments in MMA history resonate at different frequencies. A moment could be spectacular, it could be violent, or it could change the course of the sport’s history. On rare occasion, a moment embodies all of those things and simultaneously fortifies its place among MMA’s most indelible moments. Holly Holm destroying Ronda Rousey is one of those moments.

The brief length of Rousey’s conquests over Cat Zingano and Bethe Correia earlier in the year probably makes them the most-viewed MMA fights, start to finish, in 2015. However, I find it hard to believe any fight’s conclusion was viewed more this year, in one form or another, than Holm-Rousey. Holm’s left head kick exploding on Rousey’s face turned into mainstream internet memes and hit corners of the news cycle typically reserved for housebound homemakers. With one swing of her leg, Holm became UFC women’s bantamweight champion, did immeasurable good to her bank account, put herself in a rarified air of multi-sport athletes and authored women’s MMA’s most important fight outcome and greatest knockout -- all at once.

However, a superb knockout, even a historically resonant one, is not the same thing as a serious beatdown. In the case of Holm-Rousey, even as nasty as the left shin up top was, the actual kill shot was just the cherry on top of the sundae for “The Preacher’s Daughter,” who thoroughly humiliated Rousey for six minutes before the knockout. Within 30 seconds of their UFC 193 main event in Melbourne, Australia, it was clear that Holm’s struggles in her first two UFC bouts with Raquel Pennington and Marion Reneau were not at all instructive about how her style matched with Rousey. Perhaps imbued with confidence after one-punching Bethe Correia into a face plant in just 34 seconds three months prior, Rousey looked content to chase and swing at Holm early; yet every single exchange saw the seemingly unbeatable champ lanced with a clean left hand -- over and over and over and over.

Rousey’s nose bled quickly and the champion looked flustered and panicked, rushing at her challenger with her head down, blind, casting wide, flailing punches. Some of Rousey’s erratic attack was so off-the-wall that the “Rowdy” one managed to hit Holm, even stumbling her once with a wild right. However, Rousey’s charging smelled of desperation, which was quickly became clear to Holm, who went right back to circling and crushing Rousey with left-handed counters. In the contest’s six minutes, Rousey landed 17 of the 65 significant strikes she threw, most of them charging, primitive and without impact; Holm landed 38 significant strikes, while throwing only 53. She landed more than double Rousey in terms of meaningful connects, while throwing a dozen less. More importantly, every left seemed to register with increasingly serious impact on Rousey, who was further reduced to bloodied, swollen hopelessness with every land.

On the notion of a fight resonating on multiple levels, this was a brutal physical beating that had larger reverberations. As mentioned, this was a complete embarrassment for Rousey, who looked by no measure to be competent, let alone the greatest women’s mixed martial artist to date. Holm even took her down for kicks and pulled out of an armbar before kicking her head off. The reverberations did not end there, either. Rousey’s dreadful performance re-ignited conversations about whether or not she needed to move on from embattled trainer Edmond Tarverdyan, his feud with Rousey’s outspoken mother Dr. AnnMaria de Mars, Rousey’s relationship with UFC heavyweight Travis Browne and whether or not she has a future in the sport.

Rousey might be the greatest female fighter to date, but she is also MMA’s most profound crossover star to date, as no fighter has entered the mainstream consciousness like her before. Holm found a way to destroy Rousey in the cage and outside of it, creating a beatdown that resonates on just about every frequency.

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