Holly Holm vs. Ronda Rousey and the 10 Biggest Upsets in MMA History
Holly Holm's destruction of Ronda Rousey was complete and brilliant. It was also a massive upset.
Those facts are not mutually exclusive, and neither one should be forgotten in the wake of UFC 193, in which Holm knocked out Rousey with a spectacular head kick to become only the second person to wear the UFC women's bantamweight belt.
The reaction was quick. Biggest upset ever, is what everyone proclaimed. Hey, that's the way it goes with our instant-oatmeal society and blah-blah.
But is there truth to the claim? Where does Holm's win really rank among the biggest upsets in MMA history?
Being big means more than just long odds (though Holm has that; she was a +900 underdog on Odds Shark Saturday). The size of an upset also takes into account the stakes of a fight and the stature of its fighters.ย
Based on those three metrics, these are the 10 biggest upsets in MMA history. Odds courtesy of Odds Shark when available, and the other sites, depending on circumstances, when not.ย
Honorable Mentions
1 of 11
Thanks to Bleacher Report MMA team members Jonathan Snowden and Craig "I'm Not Actually on Twitter" Amos for pitching in suggestions.
Honorable mentions are listed in no particular order, with the winner's odds of winning displayed in parentheses.
- Chad Griggs def. Bobby Lashley (Griggs +600)
- Will Brooks def. Michael Chandler (Brooks +650)
- Maurice Smith def. Mark Coleman (Odds unknown)
- Herica Tiburcio def. Michelle Waterson (Tiburcio +600)
- Alexander Otsuka def. Marco Ruas (Odds unknown)
- Mike Brown def. Urijah Faber (Brown +425)
- Tito Ortiz def. Ryan Bader (Ortiz +500)
- Kevin Randleman def. Mirko Cro Cop I (Odds unknown)
- Ryo Chonan def. Anderson Silva (Chonan +250)
- Joe Lauzon def. Jens Pulver (Lauzon +330)
- Randy Couture def. Chuck Liddell I (Couture +202)
- Randy Couture def. Tim Sylvia (Couture +235)
- Keith Jardine def. Chuck Liddell (Jardine +280)
- Antonio Silva def. Alistair Overeem (Silva +390)
- Pat Curran def. Roger Huerta (Curran +600)
- Rafael Carvalho def. Brandon Halsey (Carvalho +550)
- Joey Beltran def. Rolles Gracie (Beltran +625)
10. Forrest Griffin vs. Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua I
2 of 11
Date: September 22, 2007
Event: UFC 76
Result: Forrest Griffin def. Mauricio Rua by submission (rear-naked choke), 4:45, Rd. 3
Odds: Griffin +260
In retrospect, this one wasn't quite as amazing as people made out. Griffin was better than imagined, Shogun wasn't equal to his hype.
Still, the win left a mark on the MMA psyche. With Rua debuting in the UFC after moving over from Pride, hardcore fans assumed the better fighter was the guy from the "better" promotion. Sure, Forrest was a tough scrapper, but he didn't have the skills to hang with a finely tuned fighting machine like Shogun.
Griffin got the better of everybody and did it with style. (Oh, yes...style points count in this listicle.) He garnered the tap with only 15 seconds remaining in the contest, and that giddy run across the cage afterward is indelibly seared in the mind of every fan who saw it.
9. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
3 of 11Date: February 24, 2007
Event: Pride 33
Result: Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou def. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira by KO, 0:23, Rd. 1
Odds: Sokoudjou +1000
If you're just looking at sheer numbers, they don't get much gaudier than this.
There's a good reason for the lopsidedness. Lil Nog was one of the best light heavyweights in the world at the time, having won nine of his previous 10 while facing studs like Alistair Overeem and Dan Henderson.ย
Sokoudjou was, well, less so. This was the Cameroonian's first fight for Pride. His previous fight? A first-round knockout loss to Glover Teixeira in WEC, back when the WEC did light heavyweights.
As you can see in this awesomely grainy video, it didn't take the underdog long to cash. He kicked high with his right leg, then delivered a devastating short uppercut with his left to send Lil Nog on his way. It was the younger Nogueira's first stoppage loss.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
8. Miguel Torres vs. Brian Bowles
4 of 11
Date: August 9, 2009
Event: WEC 42
Result: Brian Bowles def. Miguel Torres by KO, 3:57, Rd. 1
Odds: Bowles +275
For a while there, plenty of observers considered Torres to be the best in the world, any weight class. When he stepped in against Bowles, the WEC bantamweight champion had taken 17 in a row, including three title defenses.
Torres' brilliant grappling was no antidote for the stone-fisted Bowles. Perhaps he was overvalued or perhaps something broke inside him during that loss. Either way, Torres was never the same after this upset. He's 6-7 since, unable to maintain a roster spot in World Series of Fighting or even Titan FC. It has been a sad descent, and it started here, at the ends of Bowles' hands.
7. Emanuel Newton vs. Muhammed Lawal I
5 of 11Date: February 21, 2013
Event: Bellator 90
Result:ย Emanuel Newton def. Muhammed Lawal by KO, 2:35, Rd. 1
Odds: Newton +975
King Mo Lawal was pretty dismissive of the journeyman Newton as their light heavyweight tournament date drew near.ย
Newton had an answer for that: a little technique known as the spinning backfist.ย He threw it, and King Mo shut down like a toy that ran out of batteries.
It started one of the unlikeliest title runs in recent memory. Newton captured the interim title in the rematch with Lawal, then beat Attila Vegh to take the undisputed belt, which he defended twice before losing it to Liam McGeary.
No matter where Newton goes from here, that spinning backfist is one for the ages.ย
6. Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Mirko Cro Cop I
6 of 11
Date: April 21, 2007
Event: UFC 70
Result: Gabriel Gonzaga def. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic by KO, 4:51, Rd. 1
Odds: Gonzaga +350
Perhaps more than any other, this still image says "MMA upset."
Yep, it's Cro Cop getting Cro Copped and by a guy who may never have lifted his leg this high in his life prior to this point.
โIt was a perfect fight,โ Gonzaga told Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie several years later. โI didnโt make any mistakes, he made one and I landed the kick. I remember I was young, everything was new and I won.โ
5. Frankie Edgar vs. B.J. Penn I
7 of 11
Date: April 10, 2010
Event: UFC 112
Result: Frankie Edgar def. B.J. Penn by unanimous decision
Odds: Edgar +550
If the previous slide contained the ultimate underdog image, this slide contains the ultimate underdog.
Edgar scored a huge upset on the seemingly unbeatable Penn, then proceeded to scrap, claw and will his way to superstardom. Who doesn't love Frankie Edgar? That whole phenomenon started with this fight.
4. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum
8 of 11
Date: June 26, 2010
Event: Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum
Result: Fabricio Werdum def. Fedor Emelianenko by submission (arm triangle), 1:09, Rd. 1
Odds: Werdum +430
This upset broke the Internet before "break the Internet" was something people said.
Fedor was 33 years old at the time, and while he was still on an unbeaten streak that began in 2000, chinks had appeared recently in the Russian's armor.
Andrei Arlovski had him on the ropes (literally) before an ill-conceived jumping knee changed that bit of fortune. A second-round knockout of Brett Rogers didn't do much to buoy any spirits.
Then came Werdum, who was perhaps as underrated then as Fedor was overrated. Fedor brazenly and even arrogantly exposed himself in the Brazilian's guard, and just like that, the deal was done.
Fedor went on to lose his next two before winning two cupcakes and calling it a career (until he came out of retirement earlier this year; opponent TBD).
Werdum, as you know, is 6-1 since and now holds a little title known as UFC heavyweight champion.
Still, this was the Triangle Heard 'Round the World, and it will always be a fixture on these lists.
3. T.J. Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao I
9 of 11
Date: May 24, 2014
Event: UFC 173
Result: T.J. Dillashaw def. Renan Barao by TKO, 2:26, Rd. 5
Odds: Dillashaw +550
Many fans feel conditioned to see Fedor at the top of things, as if something automatically attains a certain position just because of the great heavyweight's involvement. It's as if simply invoking the word "Fedor" magically makes them right.ย
Sorry to disappoint. But this is the bigger upset.
People also may forget about this one because Dillashaw was so dang dominant in the fight, and the dominance has continued apace ever since.ย
Dillashaw was a huge underdog coming into this fight. Remember: During fight week, UFC President Dana White called Barao the best overall fighter in the world. Barao was not only the champ, he was perfect through seven UFC contests, part of a 32-fight unbeaten streak that traced back to 2005. And at 27 years old, he was at the absolute peak of his powers. He was so well-rounded that no clear path to victory existed.
Or so we thought.
We know how this one ended up, with Dillashaw beating Barao to every punch before finally scoring the fifth-round knockout. He chewed up Barao in the rematch too, which ended by TKO in the fourth. Dillashaw is now considered one of the best fighters on Earth.
2. Georges St-Pierre vs. Matt Serra
10 of 11
Date: April 7, 2007
Event: UFC 69
Result: Matt Serra def. Georges St-Pierre by TKO, 3:25, Rd. 1
Odds: Serra +700
It's heartwarming, in a way, to imagine a septuagenarian Serra holding court in a Long Island sports tavern, telling his GSP story with as much gusto the millionth time as he did the first time.
Serra, then 32, earned the title fight by winning a special season of The Ultimate Fighter geared toward giving supposed has-beens one final shot at the big show. It was set to be a feel-good moment, one where Serra took his decision loss to the 25-year-old phenom, didn't get too marked up in the process, accepted his back-pats and headed off to wherever it was he really belonged.
Turns out he belonged right where he was, at least for a night.ย
St-Pierre looked as stunned as anyone when Serra put him on the floor, almost helpless as Serra stood over him, wailing on his face. Serra's look of mock shock when they strapped the belt around his waist is still one for the UFC's all-time highlight reel.
GSP dominated the rematch, of course. But the loss seemed to stick with the champ, who afterward appeared to favor more conservative game plans.ย
1. Holly Holm vs. Ronda Rousey
11 of 11
Date: November 14, 2015
Event: UFC 193
Result: Holly Holm def. Ronda Rousey by KO, 0:59, Rd. 2
Odds: Holm +525
Yep. We have a new champion. Of this list.
If you go strictly by the numbers, this is not the biggest upset, even among title fights.ย Here's what sets this apart: Rousey was undefeated and in her absolute prime. She's the Babe Ruth of her sport. At 28 years old, she had only left the first round once. Not even young GSPโheck, old GSPโcan claim that sort of dominance.
Speaking of GSP, at 25 he was a bit on the young side of his athletic prime. As for Serra, he was 9-4 as a pro when he stepped in. Not the world's greatest record, but it did contain wins over guys like Chris Lytle and Yves Edwards.
Holmโwho at age 34 was two years older than Serra for her fightโwas 9-0 but had no such signature MMA wins on her resume. What's more, she's a boxing specialist, which conventional wisdom identifies as an inferior base for MMA compared with jiu-jitsu, which was Serra's bread and butter.
And this is all to say nothing of Rousey's public mystique, the massive, massive celebrity she achieved and that no one else in MMA, not one person, has ever approached.
Bottom line: Take it from our own senior MMA analyst Patrick Wyman, who said of Rousey, "This was a champion in her physical and skill prime getting beaten down."
There you go.
Scott Harris writes about MMA for Bleacher Report. Follow Scott on Twitter if you feel so inclined.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
