UFC 193 Results: The Real Winners and Losers from Rousey vs. Holm Fight Card
At the end of the rainbow, there was a fight.
UFC 193—and, yeah, that Ronda Rousey woman—occupied the center of the MMA world Saturday in Melbourne, Australia. Rousey, the UFC women's bantamweight champion and black hole of endless hype, was out to defend her belt against former boxing champion Holly Holm.
Coming in, the 34-year-old Holm was only nine fights into her pro MMA career, though she did rack up a tidy 9-0 record during that run. Nevertheless, the relative greenness is probably a big reason why she was a major, major underdog coming into this fight.
The other reason was, you know, Rousey. Easily the best female MMA fighter ever.
No chance, right? Open and shut, correct? Why bother? Another photo op in the bag?
Well, this is why they fight the fights. Did I read that somewhere once?
There were also 12 other bouts on this card, including a co-main event featuring Joanna Jedrzejczyk, the electrifying women's strawweight champ.
As always, the final stat lines only reveal so much. Read on—and you want to read on—for the real winners and losers from UFC 193.
For the literal-minded among us, full card results appear on the final slide.
Winner: Holly Holm
1 of 8
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new UFC women's bantamweight champion. Her name is Holly Holm.
Holm scored a second-round knockout—and the largest upset in MMA history—to take home the belt and humble Ronda Rousey.
It started out the way everyone expected. Holm circled and circled and circled some more. The southpaw landed a left on the champion. No biggie. Rousey ate it and continued.
Rousey ate the next one, too. And the next one.
No biggie.
Rousey got Holm to the mat and went for a signature armbar. No more muckin' around for Rousey.
But wait. Did Holm just defend that?
Are they back up? Is Holm landing more lefts?
Did, uh, did Holm just take Rousey down? That wasn't supposed to happen.
Is Rousey bleeding? Did Holm win that round?
There was Rousey, breathing heavily from her open mouth, on her stool. And there was Holm, bright-eyed and energized.
The second began.
Rousey was tired. Holm, like some kind of matador, ducked under and through a lumbering Rousey overhand. Holm landed another counter left, then shoved Rousey away after the exchange. As Rousey got to her feet, her back was to Holm.
Holm took advantage.
Left leg upside the head.
Rousey fell to the side like a surfboard pushed off its perch against the side of a house. A few hammerfists later, and we had a new champion.
"I don't know!" Holm said in the cage after the fight when broadcaster Joe Rogan asked her what happened. "I'm trying to take it in but it's crazy."
It's still hard to take in. But the results are not in dispute. And new.
Loser: Ronda Rousey
2 of 8
Let the questions begin.
Was it all too much for Rousey? Too many interviews? Too many commitments away from the gym?
Did she believe her own hype? Was she looking past Holm? Was she looking a little too forward to movies and disappearing?
What about her coaches? What about her camp?
What about the Cyborg Justino fight?
What about a rematch with Holm?
Will she retire?
Suffice it to say, that head-kick changed everything. And the ostensibly invincible Rousey, who did not answer questions after the fight as of press time, has a lot of thinking to do.
Winner: Joanna Jedrzejczyk
3 of 8
At first, Joanna Jedrzejczyk seemed almost stunned that Valerie Letourneau would trade with her. Some clinch-riding time for the challenger may have swung the first round in her favor, until some sharp front kicks from the champion potentially earned her the nod at the end.
But the minutes wore on, and Letourneau grew tired as Jedrzejczyk held steady. The leg kick was a big weapon for the champ, as was sheer volume, and she appeared to out-land Letourneau by a wide margin.
Still, the French-Canadian proved a worthy challenger in lasting all five rounds, which was a lot more than most expected.
"Yeah, I say Valerie was going to be [a] tough and hard opponent," Jedrzejczyk told Rogan in the cage after the fight. "It's not going to always be easy. I just want to fight and beat the best, and Valerie deserved it completely."
In the end, though, aggression and speed won the day for Jedrzejczyk, just as they had in her 10 previous professional fights. This could be a star-making turn for Jedrzejczyk as the winner of the co-main event on a card that surely drew plenty of casual and women's MMA fans.
Winner: Valerie Letourneau
4 of 8
When the fight started, Valerie Letourneau was a major underdog against Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
When the fight ended, she was less so.
Letourneau was slower throughout and slowed markedly over the course of the contest. But she was tough and traded with the champion. Her fists found the champ's face, as evidenced by the smattering of blood there.
With the exception of Claudia Gadelha, Letourneau probably gave the champion the stiffest challenge of her career.
As MMA writer and analyst Josh Gross tweeted after the third round: "Letourneau isn't sharp enough over the course of 25 minutes to win a decision against Jedrzejczyk. The champ is up 2-1 but looks very human."
Yes, Virginia, there are moral victories in sports. Against a striker as sharp and intimidating as Jedrzejczyk, and with odds that long against you, Letourneau picked one up at UFC 193. And she probably earned her share of fans in a valiant defeat.
Winner: Diet and Exercise
5 of 8
Mark Hunt has never looked better in the UFC Octagon. And that's not just because of his first-round knockout of Antonio Silva.
After switching to a vegan diet this summer, then switching camps to AKA Thailand, Hunt is perhaps in the best shape of his career.
The newly svelte Hunt looked more powerful for it, not having to cut major weight before his bout with Silva, as he did before his fight with Stipe Miocic on May 9, in which he faded and lost by knockout.
Before this fight, Hunt told Stuff:
"I've been training like a crazy guy and I don't want what happened last time I went out there to happen to me again. It's not going to happen this time. I'm in very good shape and I'm ready to go. I've had enough of training, and I don't like training. I'm ready for the party. I've got my best party dress and hat on and hopefully everyone else brings theirs.
"
Batten down the hatches, Melbourne. Mark Hunt's coming.
Loser: Jared Rosholt
6 of 8
In the pay-per-view opener, three-time All-American wrestler Jared Rosholt ground out the normally exciting Stefan Struve for a unanimous-decision victory.
So why is he a loser?
Because, in the pay-per-view opener, three-time All-American wrestler Jared Rosholt ground out the normally exciting Stefan Struve for a unanimous-decision victory.
For a fight card that undoubtedly drew a great deal of casual fans, both in person and on TV, this was a pretty lackluster way to get things going.
Rosholt didn't get to 13-2 overall in MMA and 5-1 in the UFC for nothing, and he showed that again Saturday. He scored takedowns with relative ease and pinned the 7'0" Struve to the mat, where Struve's long height and reach would not be as big of a factor.
It was effective, but it was dull. Rosholt was not exactly starting it off with a bang.
Loser: Non-Spinning Knockouts
7 of 8
Undercards are not main cards, especially when the main card sells itself, as this one did.
So there wasn't a lot on the line for this preliminary slate. There were some nice fighters, sure, but expectations and stakes were not exactly spiking.
But if I've said it once, I've said it a gazillion times. That is why they fight the fights. I'm the first person to ever say anything like that, too.
Eight undercard bouts, five of them ending in stoppage. Four of those five were knockouts. All four were actually pretty memorable in their own ways. But only one had what we all like to call the spinning stuff. (This is a PG website, thanks.)
Lightning struck twice when James Moontasri tagged Anton Zafir with a spinning back kick then quickly followed it up with a spin of the back-fisting variety. It was over few punches later.
With so much violence on the card (and performance bonuses at a premium), someone needed something to stand out. Moontasri and his spins might have done it.
UFC 193 Full Card Results
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Main Card
Holly Holm def. Ronday Rousey by KO, 0:59, Rd. 2
Joanna Jedrzejczyk def. Valerie Letourneau by unanimous decision
Mark Hunt def. Antonio Silva by knockout, 3:41, Rd. 1
Robert Whittaker def. Uriah Hall by unanimous decision
Jared Rosholt def. Stefan Struve by unanimous decision
Preliminary Card
Jake Matthews def. Akbarh Arreola TKO (doctor's stoppage), 5:00, Rd. 2
Kyle Noke def. Peter Sobotta by TKO, 2:01, Rd. 1
Gian Villante def. Anthony Perosh by KO, 2:56, Rd. 1
Danny Martinez def. Richie Vaculik by unanimous decision
Dan Kelly def. Steve Montgomery by unanimous decision
Richard Walsh def. Steve Kennedy by unanimous decision
James Moontasri def. Anton Zafir by TKO, 4:36, Rd. 1
Ben Nguyen def. Ryan Benoit by submission (rear-naked choke), 2:35, Rd. 1
Scott Harris writes about MMA for Bleacher Report. Follow Scott on Twitter if you feel so inclined. Odds provided by Odds Shark.
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