UFC has wrapped up and a few days after the shock has simmered down, I am still in shock. So lets not waste any time. Here are my thoughts.

A new UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champ

The queen has been dethroned. Superwoman has met her kryptonite. If you read my previous post, I mentioned that Holly Holm gameplan would be to “stick and move”. I also mentioned that I would not be shocked if Holm won the fight. Am I shocked that Holm won the fight? No. But the manner of which she did win – via Head Kick knockout, right after dominating Rousey in the first round – was the shock. Holly Holm used very accurate counterstriking, excellent footwork, and lateral movement to pick apart the former champ from the opening second. More on this on my next piece. In the meantime, there is a new queen in the UFC.

Was Ronda Rousey exposed?

Yes and no. While the former champ is still an excellent fighter, and one of the greatest ever, there are major flaws in her game. Her biggest problem: her coaching. It was fascinating to see the disparity between Holm’s coaching (Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn) and Rousey’s (Edmond Tarverdyan). Between rounds, Holly Holm’s coaches were giving brilliant technical instruction.

Flip to the other corner, Rousey’s coach repeatedly said “You are doing fine. You have her (Holm) right were you want her.”

Ummm…..what???

More importantly, her striking may not be as good as we thought. Correction: her striking is fine, her footwork and technique flaws were magnified. We all knew Rousey was a dominant grappler, but if she couldn’t get Holm on the ground (which she couldn’t), then she would have major problems.

Some “experts”, most notable was former UFC middleweight Chael Sonnen, even had the audacity to say that Rousey would have the stand-up advantage. Let’s give the champ her credit. She mauled Rousey. Took her lunch money. Destroyed her castle. Snatched her MMA crown and wont give it back. All Kings (and Queens) have there fall sometime. How you are remembered is how you bounce back. Unfortunately, we ma have to wait until UFC 200.

Joanna Jedrzejczyk!

She dominated. Her speed and precision was just too much for Letourneau to handle. It wasn’t easy as Letourneau gave her a battle for the first 2 rounds. But as the 3rd round commenced, vicious leg kicks from the champ did exactly what they intended to do; there was a giant welt on the leg of the challenger as the fight ended. Joanna Champion is a monster.

The rest of the main card was…

Meh.