Arguably the biggest upset in the history of MMA took place in front of a record-setting crowd of 56,214 at Etihad Stadium on Sunday; with a gate that took over $9M AUD. The pay-per-view was broadcast live via Main Event.
Holly Holm came into the fight as a major underdog, and with six flawless title defences to Rousey’s name already, many expected the champ to put another W in the winners column. But that wasn’t to be. Fans were left gobsmacked when Holly Holm knocked out Ronda Rousey at the 59 second mark of the second round.
Holm executed the perfect game plan, keeping her distance, as Rousey aggressively pursued her, and landing a left jab that hit Rousey’s chin over and over. It would be a head kick to the neck however that would finally end Rousey’s reign, knocking her out cold, and banking Holm the belt and a cool $100k performance of the night bonus and $50k fight of the night bonus. The other bonus went to Kyle Noke for his TKO of Peter Sobotta during the preliminary card.
The co-main event was a five round technical match up between current strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Valerie Letourneau. Letourneau started strong in the first two rounds, with effective striking, great control of the octagon and getting a takedown against a champion who rarely sees the canvas, but it was to be short-lived.
Letourneau’s chin was likely the only thing keeping her in the fight as the rounds progressed. The constant pressure and volume of striking from Jedrzejczyk became overwhelming, kicks to the lead leg of Letourneau left massive welts and a hematoma under the eye no doubt made it difficult for her to focus. Jedrzejczyk was relentless for the whole 25 minutes, and whilst Letourneau stood and traded with her the whole time, Jedrzejczyk was the clear winner and filed away yet another title defence.
The people’s main event between Robert Whittaker and Uriah Hall was a fan’s dream. Whittaker came out aggressive and confident, landing combinations, his striking explosive and rocking Hall a number of times. Whittaker even landed a takedown at one stage, not something anyone was expecting to see from this fight.
Hall seemed to make a bit of a comeback in the second round after a straight left from Whittaker was called an eye poke, resulting in a loss of momentum. Hall showed some razzle dazzle, which he is known for, landing several spectacular strikes including a flying knee and head kick to close out the round.
Hall continued to come out strong in the third round however Whittaker made sure there was no doubts in the judges mind that he had won the fight. Whittaker continued to land the big overhand right, the best weapon in his arsenal, taking home the decision victory (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
Fan favourite Mark Hunt came out and did exactly what he said he would do by getting the TKO win over Antonio Silva in their much-anticipated rematch. Big Foot Silva started the fight intelligently, staying on the outside and avoiding Hunt’s kicks and left hook. At the early three minute mark of the first round, however, Hunt threw a punch that grazed Silva’s temple, dropping the heavyweight, before turning the lights out with a solid right to the face.
Dana White announced at the post fight press conference that the next UFC event to be held in Australia would take place in Brisbane in March, 2016.
Full UFC 193 quick results can be found here.
