Women’s MMA Report: Holm KOs Rousey, UFC hints at new flyweight division

Holly Holm and Ronda Rousey

The MMA landscape changed dramatically on Nov. 15 when the sport’s biggest female star, Ronda Rousey, suffered a crushing loss at “UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm” in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Rousey was knocked out by a second-round head kick from former pound-for-pound boxing queen Holly Holm, who became the new UFC women’s bantamweight champion.

Leading up to the much-hyped title tilt, most observers expected Holm (10-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) would be quickly finished by Rousey (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC), who had developed an aura of invincibility after knocking out or submitting each of her first six UFC opponents. Holm had other ideas, however, and the fight played out in a completely different manner.

Rousey chose to stand and trade strikes with Holm in the opening minute, which allowed Holm to gauge Rousey’s timing and counter with crisp punches from a distance. When Rousey clinched and scored a brief takedown, an armbar finish appeared to be inevitable. Instead, Holm immediately returned to her feet and continued to out-box a now-bloodied Rousey. She put a stamp on the opening round by slamming Rousey to the mat in the final minute.

Holm picked Rousey apart with one-two combinations in the second round and she easily sidestepped Rousey’s increasingly wild punches. A left hook stunned Rousey and she turned her back. Seconds later, Holm unleashed a brutal head kick that sent an unconscious Rousey crashing to the canvas. The shocking knockout came at the 59-second mark of Round 2.

Throughout her tenure as UFC champion, Rousey was a polarizing figure among fans and peers, but she brought in millions of new fans as mainstream media began to follow her career. That was both a blessing and a curse, however, as many of those same fans and media turned on her following her loss, with some commenting that Rousey was “exposed” as being overhyped.

While Rousey’s future is unclear, new champion Holm has taken over some of the spotlight that Rousey once held. In the past week, she has made multiple media appearances as the UFC welcomes in a new era for its women’s bantamweight division. Holm’s first title defense may come against Rousey in mid-2016, but the planned bout has not yet been confirmed.

Somewhat overshadowed by Holm’s spectacular knockout in the UFC 193 main event was the performance of another UFC champion, strawweight ace Joanna Jedrzejczyk (11-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC), in the co-feature. Jedrzejczyk posted a well-deserved unanimous decision victory over challenger Valerie Letourneau (8-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC) in a bout that was much more competitive than some pundits had predicted.

Letourneau took the champion down early in Round 1 after catching a kick, but Jedrzejczyk returned to her feet and the fighters traded knees in the clinch. The most significant strike of the round came in the form of a front kick from Jedrzejczyk, which dazed Letourneau and allowed Jedrzejczyk to finish the round strong with a flurry.

Letourneau’s best success came in the second round. She mixed up her strikes well with punching combinations and kicks from a distance. Jedrzejczyk remained effective with knees in close, but Letourneau more than held her own in the striking exchanges.

In the final 15 minutes, Jedrzejczyk showed why she is the champion by methodically wearing Letourneau down on the feet. She damaged Letourneau’s lead leg with kicks and hurt her with punches late in Round 4. Letourneau’s right eye swelled up and Jedrzejczyk targeted it with punches and elbows before the final bell.

Scores were 50-45 and 49-46 twice for Jedrzejczyk, who retained her title and her spot atop the 115-pound women’s division. Jedrzejczyk did suffer a fractured right hand in her victory and she will likely be sidelined until the middle of next year.

White open to creating UFC women’s flyweight division, advises Tate to retire

Miesha Tate

Shortly before his company’s top female draw was dethroned in Australia, UFC president Dana White informed the media that the UFC is interested in adding a third women’s division. White stated that flyweight will be the next female weight class added, though he did not provide a proposed date for when the new division will debut.

White’s comments came at an interesting time. A recent dispute over money and respect between UFC brass and former women’s bantamweight title challenger Miesha Tate has led Tate to thoughts of retirement. White’s response was a mix of apparent indifference and encouragement for Tate’s retirement plans, but Tate has stated in the past that she would be open to dropping down to 125 pounds and she would surely factor heavily into the UFC women’s flyweight title picture if a division and championship are created.

By seemingly casting Tate to the side, White may have dissuaded her from being a part of the proposed flyweight division. However, in light of Rousey’s loss and the UFC’s need to develop new superstars, White may be forced to quickly change his tune and welcome Tate back.

At present, the top 125-pound female fighter in the world is Invicta FC flyweight champion Barb Honchak, who holds a nine-fight winning streak that dates back more than five years. Honchak has fought just one time since December 2013, in the main event of Invicta FC 9 one year ago.

The creation of a UFC women’s flyweight division would likely mean that Honchak and other top-ranked talent would transition over from Invicta FC, which has struggled to maintain any momentum since the UFC signed away many of its best bantamweights and strawweights.

Julia Budd, Arlene Blencowe victorious at Bellator 146

Julia Budd

Featherweight standout Julia Budd (8-2) extended her winning streak to six with a clear-cut unanimous-decision victory on Nov. 20 at “Bellator 146: Kato vs. Manhoef” in Thackerville, Okla. Budd defeated the previously unbeaten Roberta Paim Rovel (4-1) in a featured matchup.

All three rounds of the fight were predominantly contested in the clinch and Budd landed numerous knees while pinning Paim against the fence. Paim scored a brief takedown in Round 2, but she was unable to hold Budd down for long. Budd continued to control the clinch battles and she took Paim down into half-guard in the final round.

Scores were 30-26 and 30-27 twice for Budd, who has set her sights on challenging Marloes Coenen for the inaugural Bellator women’s featherweight title in 2016.

Earlier on the Bellator 146 card, Arlene Blencowe (7-5) rebounded from her loss to Coenen in August by edging out Gabrielle Holloway (5-4) via split decision. Holloway scored takedowns in all three rounds, but Blencowe defended well from the bottom and she clearly got the better of Holloway in the striking exchanges on the feet. In Round 3, Blencowe escaped from an arm-triangle choke and she attempted an armbar shortly before the final bell.

One judge scored the fight 29-28 for Holloway, while the remaining two both had it 29-28 for Blencowe. The Australian fighter has won five of her past six bouts.

Angela Lee submits Natalie Gonzales Hills, fights again in three weeks

Undefeated strawweight rising star Angela Lee (3-0) made history by scoring a highlight-reel submission victory on Nov. 13 at “ONE Championship 32: Pride of Lions” in Kallang, Singapore. The 19-year-old finished Natalie Gonzales Hills (2-3) with the first Twister in ONE history.

Gonzales Hills started strong in Round 1 by landing knees and overhand rights in the opening minute. She secured a takedown against the cage, but Lee used a slick sweep to reverse into top position. Lee took mount soon after and she bloodied Gonzales Hills’ face with punches. Gonzales Hills was forced to give up her back and Lee locked on the rarely-seen Twister for the tapout win at the 2:24 mark of Round 1.

Lee, who is arguably the top female star on the ONE Championship roster, will make a quick return to action next month. She is set to face off against Poland’s Lena Tkhorevska (3-1) at “ONE Championship: Spirit of Champions” on Dec. 11 in Pasay, Manila, Philippines.

Quick results

Featherweight title – Kelly Faszholz (3-0) def. Brittney Elkin (2-3) via submission (rear-naked choke) at the 3:48 mark of Round 2 at “Prize Fighting Championship 12: Rock N Rumble 2” on Nov. 6 in Denver, Colo.

Flyweight – Charlene Watt (6-1) def. Terissa Wall (2-2) via TKO (punches) at the 2:26 mark of Round 2 at Xtreme Fighting Championship 25 on Nov. 7 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Flyweight – Shana Power (1-0) def. Kirsty Davis (0-1) via TKO (punches) at the 1:45 mark of Round 1 at Extreme Fighting Championship 45 on Nov. 7 in Cape Town, South Africa.

Flyweight – Petra Castkova (1-0) def. Malgorzata Smaczniak (0-1) via split decision at Pawel Kaminski Memorial 4 on Nov. 7 in Gniezno, Poland.

Catchweight (139) – Katharina Lehner (4-0) def. Alexandra Buch (8-5) via unanimous decision at German MMA Championship 7 on Nov. 7 in Castrop-Rauxel, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Strawweight – On the same German MMA Championship 7 card, Alice Ardelean (1-2) def. Daniela Kortmann (1-1) via TKO (punches) at the 2:33 mark of Round 3.

Bantamweight – Dayana Silva (6-2) def. Nubia Santos do Nascimento (0-2) via unanimous decision at “Belford Fight: Super Challenge” on Nov. 7 in Belford Roxo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Strawweight – Viviane Araujo Gomes (2-0) def. Bianca de Araujo Carvalho (3-2) via submission (armbar) at the 3:55 mark of Round 1 at Federal Gladiators Combat 1 on Nov. 7 in Brasilia, Federal District, Brazil.

Catchweight (119) – Irene Cabello (6-2) def. Yamila Sanchez (0-2) via TKO (punches) at the 2:45 mark of Round 1 at Cagemania 6 on Nov. 14 in Mijas, Malaga, Spain.

Strawweight – Virna Jandiroba (6-0) def. Aline Sattelmayer (10-8) via unanimous decision at O Rei da Arena Fight 2 on Nov. 14 in Alagoinhas, Bahia, Brazil.

Bantamweight – Mayra Cantuaria Rodrigues (2-0) def. Angie Keller Gutierrez (0-1) via submission (armbar) in Round 1 at “Extreme Fighting Championship: Chile vs. South America” on Nov. 14 in La Pintana, Santiago, Chile.

Bantamweight title – Brenda Gonzales (7-2) def. Anita Rodriguez (7-6) via unanimous decision at “Sugar Creek Showdown 28: Shockwave” on Nov. 14 in Hinton, Okla.

Bantamweight – Leah Letson (1-1) def. Shaena Cox (0-1) via KO (punch) at the 50-second mark of Round 2 at Pure Fighting Championships 2 on Nov. 14 in Milwaukee, Wis.

Strawweight – Aline Nery (5-5-1) def. Bianca Reis (4-5) via unanimous decision at Gladiator MMA Pro 2 on Nov. 15 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Bantamweight – Nicco Montano (1-0) def. Stacey Sigala (1-3) via TKO (punches) at the 4:15 mark of Round 1 at “King of the Cage: Evolution” on Nov. 20 in Albuquerque, N.M.

MMAjunkie.com publishes the Women’s MMA Report every few weeks. Its author, Robert Sargent, is a veteran MMA journalist who also runs MMARising.com. Feel free to email us at news [AT] mmajunkie.com with any questions, news tips or suggestions.