Can someone explain the obsession w/Ronda Rousey

Reading the reports of this - it is eerily similar to Tyson-Buster Douglas, in that Tyson beat up a lot of nobodies (he beat a few good fighters but by in large they were over the hill or never got to the top of the hill) by just using intimidation and his knockout punch.

But he had never really been forced to actually box and most believed he wasn't a great boxer and Douglas exposed that.

Apparently, this Rousey was just a brawler, bully type like Tyson - but the other lady forced her to stand up and be in a tactical fight - and she, like Tyson, was exposed.

For those of you who are fight watchers - is this a legitimate comparison?

 

Douglas was a 42-1 dog. I think Holm was 9-1.

 

I'm not talking about odds - I'm talking about the how/why the "unbeatable" was beaten

 

Tyson was legitimately unbeatable in his prime, and I'd dispute that he fought a bunch of nobodies. Pinklon Thomas, Tony Tucker and Tyrell Biggs were good fighters.

He was the quickest heavyweight of the era, both with hand speed and footwork, and his knockout punches were obviously devastating. He also had a top-notch chin.

Tyson lost to Douglas because his lazy ass didn't train for a millisecond, pure and simple. His trainers didn't even bring any equipment to the ring.

 

I'd say it is definitely legitimate. Rousey had mostly been fed weaker opponents who couldn't match her in any one area. They were all equally good (or bad, more accurately) at striking as her, despite what many "experts" said about Rousey's striking ability. Regardless, she always held a ridiculous advantage in grappling and judo, which allowed her to toss and armbar the shit out of most of her opponents. She certainly had the same "unbeatable" aura that Tyson had before Buster Douglas. People were already talking about her next two fights after she finished Holm.

Holm is the first opponent Rousey faced that actually held an advantage in one area of MMA as a world-class boxer and expert kickboxer. Ronda was forced to fight and different fight and she was completely outclassed. Once Plan A was no longer available, she had no Plan B. That was when Holm settled in, picked her apart with a ridiculous left cross and found her neck with that kick.

To those of us who follow MMA pretty closely, it was about as shocking a result as we could have imagined.

 

I'm not either. I'm not into UFC at all.

But I do think that Rousey's popularity has made people legitimately interested in this as a sport, not just as a novelty "chick fight."

 

I can't believe people don't get killed in a sport where you kick people in the head.

 

It is essentially just a matter of time. I think even fans of MMA (I almost typed "the sport" there but didn't in deference to the varied views of this board) know that eventually something horrendous is going to happen in one of these big UFC fights.

 

One of the announcers for this fight was hilarious, propping up Rousey almost right to the end.
The other announcer clearly saw what was going on – "Mike, she's getting lit up!" – but it wasn't sinking in.

 

That first announcer, Mike Goldberg, is universally hated by most MMA fans. He rarely knows what he is talking about. The other, Joe Rogan no less, really does know what he's talking about and has no problem calling Goldberg on his bullshit.

 

I haven't watched a UFC fight in a while, but Rogan is a really good analyst.

 

Yeah, and it was hilarious. Rogan with a great fight call, and Goldberg blabbering away about how great Rousey is –while she's getting hammered right in front of him.