Former pro wrestler Taz says the fix was in on Ronda Rousey's loss to Holly Holm

Some of us at MMAjunkie are fascinated by conspiracy theories.

Like, we legit believe Lee Harvey Oswald was set up. And the HAARP station in Alaska was used by the government to control the weather. And don’t even get us going on the supposed moon landing. (OK, fine – one of us at MMAjunkie is fascinated with these things.)

But while going to the mat over the moon landing being shot on a soundstage is one thing, the line has to be drawn somewhere. That’s not the case, it would seem, for former WWE wrestler Taz – who today on his podcast said he believes Ronda Rousey’s loss to Holly Holm this past Saturday in the UFC 193 main event was the result of a fix.

Why? Taz’s theory is that because Rousey had planned to take time away from the sport for a few months before returning, even before the Holm fight, the UFC took the title away from her since she was going to be idle.

Taz

“Why are some people not seeing this? This has been done in the wrestling industry for years,” Taz said today on “The Taz Show” podcast over a graphic that had both Rousey’s first and last names misspelled. “A guy, or girl, is going to take a break or go away, or has an injury that they have to tend to. Whatever the reasons are – or something personal – and they’re a champion, you take the championship off of them. You do not want your champion sitting home or making a movie, ‘Road House 2,’ … or trying to get trained by the WWE, whatever Rousey’s going to do. …

“But you don’t want that person sitting home for five, six, seven months with that championship. It’s bad for business. Take the belt off her. That’s what they did, guys. They took the belt off her.”

Never mind the fact that long layoffs for champions are commonplace in the UFC. Former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz was sidelined for more than two years before the promotion finally stripped him of his title. Daniel Cormier defended his light heavyweight title in October and planned a sizable layoff before returning after having three title fights in 2015 – the same as Rousey had.

Then there’s the part about the fight itself at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. Taz, who worked for the WWE from 2000-2009, then TNA from 2009-2015, said he believes Rousey was in on the “work” – a pro wrestling term for a predetermined outcome – but Holm might not have been.

In the second round, Holm caught Rousey with a kick to the head, then followed up with punches on the ground before Herb Dean stopped the fight 51 seconds into the frame. Holm was a massive underdog.

“I’m telling you right now, that whole series was the work,” Taz said. “And I’m not sure who was in on it and who wasn’t. I know this much: The ref probably wasn’t in on it. Maybe he was, I don’t know. Rousey was in on it – and this again, is all my opinion. Holm might not have been in on it. Because that high kick that she caught Rousey with did not kick Rousey in the temple, it did not kick her in the cheek bone, it did not kick her on the botton of the jaw. It caught her in the neck – in the fat of her neck.”

Holm is such a precision striker, Taz argued, that she should have been able to kick a nearly defenseless Rousey, with her arms down, in a better spot than the neck.

Of course, there was the first round, which saw Holm pick Rousey apart on the feet for five minutes, defend against Rousey’s lone armbar attempt and even take Rousey down before letting her back up and back into her striking wheelhouse.

“I saw it, too,” Taz said. “And many other people on the card got punched in the face, and kicked in the chest, and stomped on the head. The bulk of all those fights you’re watching are legit – the finish and everything, no doubt. But the bigger bouts, just like in boxing, the finish is predetermined.”

There was no moon landing, that much some of us are sure of. Convincing us Holm’s win was the result of Rousey taking a dive because the UFC didn’t want her sitting idle with the belt for six or eight months? It’s going to take a trip to the moon to get our buy-in on that one.

For complete coverage of UFC 193, check out the UFC Events section of the site.