UFC is giving fight fans an early holiday treat with Ronda Rousey's return to the Octagon, as the undefeated bantamweight champion puts her title on the line against undefeated challenger Holly Holm at UFC 193 in Australia on Saturday night.
Rousey has managed to transcend the sport of mixed martial arts in less than three years with UFC. She's become the biggest star, appearing in movies and magazine covers, but never does the 28-year-old look more comfortable than in the cage and reminding everyone why she is the best in the world.
Holm comes into the UFC 193 main event under the radar, with just two UFC victories under her belt, but the former boxing champion is not to be taken lightly. She's never lost an MMA fight since transitioning to the sport in 2011 and knows a win over Rousey can make her career.
Rousey vs. Holm Odds
| Category | Favorite | Underdog |
| Fighter | Ronda Rousey (c) | Holly Holm |
| Odds | -1500 | +1200 |
Source: OddsShark.com
Rousey vs. Holm Preview
You know that a fighter is operating on an entirely different level from anyone else when the biggest question is if the over/under for match time is 30 seconds.
That's not even an exaggeration, as Odds Shark notes the current odds for Rousey to finish Holm within the first minute is plus-200. A 60-second bout would feel like an eternity for the champion, as her last three matches have taken a combined 64 seconds.
That trio of victories is really emblematic of how Rousey has operated throughout her career covering 12 fights, per ESPN Stats & Info:
Ronda Rousey has made quite a name for herself since making her MMA debut in 2011 Her career by the numbers: pic.twitter.com/DXD2efpWtQ
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 13, 2015
By comparison, Holm spends a lot of time in the cage during her fights. She's never won a fight before the second round in her career and has had both of her UFC victories go to the judges' table.
Rousey and Holm couldn't be more different in their approach to fighting, as this table from MMA Infographics shows:
Infographic preview: Rousey vs Holm. #ufc193 https://t.co/vtTdh3Jdaw pic.twitter.com/vCiGB2r41c
— MMA Infographics (@MMAInfographics) November 6, 2015
There are always stories about how Rousey has come to be so dominant in a sport where one good punch from an opponent can end everything. No one has the answer, other than to say she is great at what she does.
Rousey, to her credit, told Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com the difference between herself and her opponent on Saturday:
Rousey: I'm willing to die in there and she isn't.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 12, 2015
Even though a sentence like that comes off as hyperbolic, there is something to the obsessive nature with which Rousey operates. Holm certainly fixates on her craft. Otherwise, she wouldn't be very good and in the main event of a show that could break UFC's all-time attendance record.
But Rousey has a way of channeling all of her natural ability and work ethic into something so unique that it's become must-see television.
To Holm's credit, she's not lacking confidence despite the world betting against her, per Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports.
“I don’t mind you saying I’m a huge underdog, because I am a huge underdog,” Holm said. “But the odds have nothing to do with how I’ll perform. I wouldn’t have taken the fight if I didn’t think I was ready or didn’t believe I could win.”
Expanding on that point, via UFC on Twitter, Holm provided a brief explanation for how upsets in sports happen:
"There are upsets in sports for a reason; someone came in & believed they could do it" @_HollyHolm #UFC193 pic.twitter.com/dgRhTcz9Tq
— #UFC193 (@ufc) November 8, 2015
If there is an opponent who can defeat Rousey, a boxer would seem to be a good bet. The champ is so good on the ground because of her judo background that keeping her standing negates her best asset.
Boxers usually pack a wallop with their punches, so that gives you a knockout weapon. The problem for Holm is she's never really had knockout power, dating back to her days as a boxer. The 34-year-old has 47 combined boxing and MMA fights. Fifteen have ended via knockout or TKO.
Someone will find a formula to defeat Rousey eventually, but Holm doesn't have it. The contrast in style favors Rousey because she's evolved, adding punching power with three knockouts in her last four fights, and still has the ground game in her back pocket if necessary.
Holm is making a huge jump in competition after defeating Raquel Pennington and Marion Reneau in her first two UFC fights. She is not going to wilt under the pressure, but the challenger has never fought an opponent like Rousey.
Prediction: Rousey wins via first-round TKO
