Ronda Rousey vs Holly Holm Remains Biggest Upset in UFC History

Published on December 15th, 2016 10:33 pm EST

There have been some massive upsets during the multi-decade history of the UFC.

Who can forget the unheralded Matt Serra defeating Georges St. Pierre at UFC 69? Georges St. Pierre entered that fight as a -1300 favorite and ended the evening in a hospital.

Or what about TJ Dillashaw shocking many to defeat the seemingly unstoppable Renan Barao at UFC 173? At the time, Barao was considered one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world, and Dillashaw entered the fight as a +710 underdog.

There have been other major upsets during the UFC's history, including Frankie Edgar over BJ Penn at UFC 112, Michael Bisping over Luke Rockhold at UFC 199 and Rafael dos Anjos over Anthony Pettis at UFC 185.

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When it comes to initial betting odds, the biggest upset in UFC history remains Holly Holm's defeat of Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 in November of 2015.

Sure, a late betting surge pushed Holly Holm's odds lower at many sports books, but the fact remains that Ronda Rousey was a -1400 favorite to win in the week before the fight took place.

This means that you would have had to have bet $1400 on Ronda Rousey in order to have a chance of winning $100 back.

It seems ridiculous that Holly Holm was such an underdog in hindsight, though at the time, Rousey was completely dismantling her opponents and seemed in absolutely no danger of losing to Holm. The warning signs were there in retrospect, however, as Rousey seemed distracted and off of her game in the days leading up to the fight.

In the end, Rousey went away from her gameplan when she fought Holm and it cost her dearly. Instead of trying to take Holm down to the ground, Rousey attempted to beat Holm on the feet, likely in an attempt to embarrass her opponent. The result was disastrous, as Holm is a champion kickboxer and ended up turning out Rousey's lights in the second round with a head kick.

Rousey has been out of action ever since the loss to Holm and much of her mystique has been wiped away. If not for the surge in popularity of Conor McGregor, the UFC would have been left in a very bad spot with Ronda Rousey's first loss.

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Note: the biggest upset in the history of mixed martial arts belongs to Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, who knocked out Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at Pride 33 in February of 2007.