Holly Holm pulled off a stunning upset victory over Ronda Rousey in UFC 193, knocking out the women’s bantamweight champion in the second round with a powerful kick to the head yesterday.
The fight started at a frenetic pace, with Holm landing some powerful shots to the unbeaten Rousey’s head, leaving the frustrated champion with a bloodied nose at the end of the first round.
Rousey attempted to dominate the second round, pushing Holm around the ring until the challenger snapped a massive kick to the head that instantly dropped her opponent to the canvas.
Photo: AFP
Holm (10-0) jumped on the prone Rousey, delivering several blows to her head before the referee intervened. An ecstatic Holm jumped around the ring as Rousey received medical treatment.
Rousey was unbeaten through 12 UFC fights before meeting Holm, and a win would have been her seventh title defense. Instead, a veteran female boxer from New Mexico has the championship belt.
In the other title bout, a bloodied Joanna Jedrzejczyk outlasted Valerie Letourneau to successfully defend her straw-weight belt in a five-round slugfest.
Jedrzejczyk won a unanimous points decision over Letourneau, who offered the champion one of her tougher fights in some time.
After containing Jedrzejczyk early on, Letourneau was slowed by a powerful front kick to the face with one minute left in the first round.
The six-time Muay Thai world champion Jedrzejczyk built the pressure in the second and third rounds with some trademark, lightning-quick combinations to Letourneau’s head, while forcing the challenger to keep her distance with some effective kicks.
Letourneau clawed ground back in the fourth and the pair traded punches, visibly hurting each other, throughout the final round.
Mark Hunt of New Zealand won his rematch with Brazil’s Antonio Silva by technical knockout after the referee stopped the feature heavyweight fight in the first round.
The big-hitting Hunt dominated from the start, determined to do better than the five-round draw the pair fought in 2013.
Earlier, New Zealand-born Australian middleweight Robert Whittaker was rewarded for his gutsy win on points over Uriah Hall with a deafening roar from the partisan Aussie crowd.
Jared Rosholt won a unanimous decision over towering Dutchman Stefan Struve in a scrappy opening heavyweight bout of the main card.
The UFC brought its showcase UFC 193 to Australia, with the Rousey-Holm fight overshadowing the men as the main event.
While organizers had yet to release crowd numbers, Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium was transformed from a 56,000-seat Australian rules football venue to an auditorium holding close to 75,000 seats for the event. A full house would easily eclipse the 55,724 fans who attended UFC 129 at Toronto’s Rogers Centre in 2011.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care