Ronda Rousey: Official Discussion Thread

[jiminy]

Originally Posted by Sam Wrestler [Only Registered Users Can See LinksClick Here To Register]

Holly Holm is not evon close to being ready to fight Rousey, when she hasn't even fought anyone in the top 10. The title shot should've been given to Nunes.

UFC matchmaking has been terrible recently. Cain gets an instant rematch and now this.

TBH, I'd rather see Holm get the shot over Tate. It's probably a case of too much, too soon, but it's been that way for everyone. I really can't think of anyone in Ronda's division that I'm exposed to who wouldn't get finished in the first round. Ronda is just that good.

Holm will have the benefit of a full camp at Jackson-Winkeljohn's gym, a notoriously good gym for getting the maximum out of their fighters and devising good game plans.

Holm is undefeated and after a couple of shaky performances the UFC probably want to strike while the iron is (somewhat) hot. Ronda seems to like taking undefeated fighters' 0s away from them.

BTW: Totally agree about Cain Velazquez. He held the belt to ransom for almost 2 years and now they're running the risk of letting him win it back. Arlovski had one of the exciting heavyweight fights in years against Travis Brown and has a win over Werdum. Arlovski/Werdum II was, without doubt, the fight to make.

We'll probably end up with JDS/Cain IV this time next year, provided Cain isn't on the shelf for another 2/3 years.

[stymie]

I'd like to see Rousey-Tate III The Final Battle...but not now. Maybe Nunes is the hottest fighter right now, but is she ready for Ronda either?...is anyone? If there is a "striker's" chance for anyone, Holm's got it. Ronda may choose to go toe to toe with Holly just because, who knows? Nobody's ready for Ronda now, so they may as well just line 'em up and Ronda can knock 'em down. Rinse and repeat. Another fight for Nunes in the meantime will only make her more ready. Then the inevitable Ro-Borg matchup.

[stymie]

Coach: Ronda Rousey would win the women's boxing world title
By Marc Raimondi  @[Only Registered Users Can See LinksClick Here To Register]_raimondi on Jul 31, 2015

Ronda Rousey was an Olympic medal-winning judoka with little striking experience before stepping into Glendale Fighting Club. There, she has become a dangerous boxer with knockout power. Just ask Alexis Davis.

Rousey's hands have become so good that her coach, Edmond Tarverdyan, said she has never lost a round against female boxers at the gym. Does part of Tarverdyan wonder what would happen if "Rowdy" crossed over into the sweet science? Not really. He already thinks he knows.

"I know she can do it," said Tarverdyan, who was an accomplished boxer and Muay Thai fighter. "I know she wins the boxing world title. Ronda has nothing to prove to me. I know what kind of fighter I have on my hands."

Rousey meets Bethe Correia in the main event of UFC 190 on Aug. 1. The best part of Correia's game is her stand up. She is coming off a TKO win over Rousey's close friend Shayna Baszler last August. Tarverdyan thinks Rousey will get the better of Correia on the feet -- and everywhere else.

He's not the only one Most others feel the same. Rousey (11-0) is as much as a 15-to-1 favorite and the fight is being called one of the biggest title mismatches in UFC history. Tarverdyan doesn't know what to do about it. Rousey, after all, has won her last two fights in a combined 30 seconds. She's finished every single one of her opponents, all but one in the first round.

"I want there to be more fighters that are great," Tarverdyan said. "She loves challenges. That's what makes her great. The reality is that the girl is just too good."

There is the potential of a fight with Cris Cyborg looming. Cyborg is the Invicta FC women's featherweight champion and one of the most feared female fighters ever. Cyborg and Rousey are 1 and 2 with regards to the best women's MMA fighters in the world, though the order is debatable.

Tarverdyan, though, doesn't think Cyborg and her incomparable knockout power will pose much of a match for Rousey.

"It doesn't matter, heavy hands," Tarverdyan said. "Ronda is too elite of an athlete. It's not about just having heavy hands. It's about being intelligent in the Octagon and Ronda is the most intelligent fighter. I witness that every day in the gym."

Cyborg would need to make Rousey's 135-pound weight class to be brought into the UFC for a title fight. It still remains to be seen if she can do it, but she said she's in the process of trying. That would be the biggest women's MMA fight of all time. But it's one that Tarverdyan brushes off just like any other.

"Ronda spars with boxing world champions that punch way harder than Cyborg," Rousey said. "Ronda has never lost a round in the gym. A round. With boxing world champions. What is Cyborg?"

The most decorated former boxer in women's MMA is Holly Holm and she's also undefeated. Holm was 33-2 as a pro boxer and three-division champion. In MMA, she has six knockouts in nine career wins. Again, Tarverdyan dismisses Holm in favor of his pupil.

"I think Ronda beats Holly Holm in a boxing match any given day, so it doesn't matter," he said.

If there are no challenges, why keep doing it? Rousey has said it's not about the money, but helping women's MMA sustain long after she's gone. With more and more movie deals coming her way, Rousey is being pulled in multiple different directions. Tarverdyan doesn't know how much longer she'll fight and he won't speculate, either.

"She's dominant," he said. "She's in her prime right now. I don't like giving a time [limit]."

[Naji]

I don't like that guy. He has a huge poster of himself hung in the gym beside a poster of Muhammad Ali. Attached a pic.
I also enjoyed how he chickened out of a fight with Dennis Hallman in TUF18, even though Edmond provoked him in the first place not expecting a retaliation - [Only Registered Users Can See LinksClick Here To Register]

[jiminy]

Agreed, Zweig. Haven't got much time for that guy either. Let's face it, Ronda would've been successful no matter what gym she trained out of. He's lucky to have her at Glendale. The hallmark of a great trainer is to be able to get the maximum out of multiple people - ie Rafael Cordeiro, Greg Jackson, etc. Tarverdyan has done nothing for Ellenburger or Browne since they went to Glendale. If anything, they have regressed.

[rennurliart]

I live in Albuquerque where Holly lives. I've seen her on the trails in the foothills running several times. Spoke with her very briefly, really sweet girl. Saw her at Lowes one time reading a home decorration magazine, She just looks like a typical blonde woman -- albeit in REALLY great shape, but still a typical pretty blonde woman. I hope she pulls it off.

Now, on a somewhat related note, I'm 52 years old. 20 years ago, if you had told me that society and the world of sports would reach a point where the two toughest pretty blonde girls in the country would fight in a cage to the delight of millions viewing on pay per view, I would not have believed it.

[stymie]

Ronda Rousey coach on Holly Holm: 'Why do you bash this young lady?'
By MMAjunkie Staff August 22, 2015 1:30 pm

One coach working with UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey said upcoming opponent Holly Holm has received unfair criticism following the recent title-fight announcement.

On Friday Rousey (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) announced on “Good Morning America” that she’ll fight Holly Holm (9-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) – not Miesha Tate (17-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC), as originally planned – in her next title defense, which comes at UFC 195.

The bout, which takes place Jan. 2 and airs on pay-per-view from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, came as a surprise to many fans. It especially came as a surprise to Tate, who wasn’t told about the change of plans prior to Rousey’s announcement.

However, Mike Dolce, who calls himself a weight-management coach for Rousey and other UFC fighters, said Holm has taken an unneeded thrashing from fans. The challenger, who’s undefeated in nine MMA fights and won 35 of her 41 pro boxing and kickboxing bouts, brings a concerning amount of experience to the title fight, he said.

“It’s a much more competitive fight than people would say,” Dolce told MMAjunkie on Friday. “I see her getting bashed on the Internet. Who do you bash this young lady? Because she’s worked her tail off to get where she’s at.

“She’s undefeated. She certainly deserves to be in the (title-picture) conversation. Now, to jump over Miesha for the title shot? That’s a conversation. I think Miesha deserved to be the No. 1 contender or at least in that conversation. But having two cracks at Ronda already, I can see why Miesha was taken out of the equation and Holly was put in.”

Check out the full conversation (VIDEO), which includes Dolce’s breakdown of the fight, here:
[Only Registered Users Can See LinksClick Here To Register]

[stymie]

Dana White: Holly Holm tabbed, because 'everyone's already seen' Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha TateBy Marc Raimondi  @[Only Registered Users Can See LinksClick Here To Register]_raimondi on Aug 21, 2015, 2:59p 134

In the end, Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate 3 wasn't the kind of trilogy the UFC wanted. At least not right now.

UFC president Dana White told the Los Angeles Times on Friday that Holly Holm was chosen as Ronda Rousey's next opponent, because, simply, Rousey has already beaten Tate twice and in dominant fashion. White didn't think the UFC needed to go to the well one more time at this point.

"We were talking about Miesha from the start, then as we started sitting around we were saying, ‘Everyone has seen the Miesha fight already,' " White said. "A third fight in a rivalry usually comes after the stuff we'd see in [Arturo] Gatti-[Micky] Ward. With Miesha, the result has been the same twice. Everyone's already seen that fight."

Rousey will defend her UFC women's bantamweight title against Holm in the main event of UFC 195 on Jan. 2 in Las Vegas, Rousey announced Friday on Good Morning America. Tate's manager Josh Jones told MMAFighting.com's Ariel Helwani that he was "absolutely shocked" and "very disappointed" that Holm was the opponent, because most people expected it to be Tate.

White told the LA Times that he would prefer Tate fight Amanda Nunes next. Nunes is on a two-fight winning streak and is another top contender.

"Theres two sides to the coin," White said. ... "I'm not sure losing another fight to Ronda so soon would be good for Miesha. She's not going anywhere. I think she'll be fine."

Holm has won both of her fights in the UFC, the latest a unanimous decision over Marion Reneau last month. Tate has won four straight since losing to Rousey in December 2013, including an impressive unanimous decision victory over Jessica Eye at UFC on FOX 16 on July 25. White himself called the Tate-Eye bout one for the No. 1 contender slot.

Tate fell to Rousey by third-round armbar at UFC 168 in December 2013 and she remains the only opponent to take the champion past the first round. Rousey also defeated Tate to win the Strikeforce title back in 2012 by first-round armbar.

Holm, undefeated like Rousey in MMA at 9-0, is a former three-division boxing champion and Ring Magazine women's boxer of the year in 2005 and 2006. She dispatched Reneau, a ranked fighter, with relative ease last month. In her UFC debut in February, Holm beat Pennington via split decision in an uneven performance.

"Everyone has jitters in their first fight. Holly came back from that and destroyed a woman who'd looked damn good in her previous fights," White said. "When you talk about the possibilities of what Holly can do ... she's a world-class boxer ... the Holly Holm fight for Ronda is way more intriguing."

[yahooserious]

I think White just want to get Holly Holmes in there ASAP because she has the marquee name and the selling point of being a great boxing champion. But she is not even a good MMA fighter and she was going to lose way before getting to Rousy if she had to fight her way through the ranks. This fight is such a huge mismatch. But I get why Dana White picked it.

[jiminy]

Originally Posted by yahooserious [Only Registered Users Can See LinksClick Here To Register]

I think White just want to get Holly Holmes in there ASAP because she has the marquee name and the selling point of being a great boxing champion. But she is not even a good MMA fighter and she was going to lose way before getting to Rousy if she had to fight her way through the ranks. This fight is such a huge mismatch. But I get why Dana White picked it.

Probably right. Akin to McMann. Jury is still out on Holm, I'm hoping she can step it up, but her last two performances haven't exactly put the division on notice.