Where were you when?
When Holm came to the UFC earlier in the year, it was the fight everyone was waiting for, but very few people predicted.
Rousey was coming off another blowout victory, having successfully defended her bantamweight title against Bethe Correia a few months earlier and was in the midst of her mainstream media breakthrough. Holm was a decorated boxer, undefeated in mixed martial arts and a deserving challenger, but she was the quiet counterpart to the fieriest champion.
All week leading up to the fight, Rousey seemed more excited than usual. She prevailed in the Octagon and Holm used it against her, deftly separating her with counters and sniper fire as the title holder advanced. In a flash, the invincible Rousey revealed herself to be human and, more surprisingly, was clearly on the verge of losing her title.
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The final moments of the fight will forever be etched in my memory: Holm stepping out of the way of a charging Rousey, who turns around, bloodied and dazed; the straight left hand that puts the champion on shaky footing; the kick that knocks her off the bantamweight throne, and Holm instantly breaks down in tears, covering her face.
If you looked at that time, you remember exactly where you were that night.
(Note: I was at home in Abbotsford, yelling at my television, much to the dismay of my wife and my dog.)
Neil Magny vs. Hector Lombard (UFC Fight Night 85)
It’s certainly not the biggest or most memorable fight on this list, it was one of the craziest reversals of fortune we’ve seen in the Octagon.
In the first round, Lombard, the compact Cuban power hitter who had just one kit and threw it all with murderous intent, went one-for-one with his takedowns, racking up over three minutes of control time and clinching 50 of 62 important strikes. Simply put, he topped Magny, who was stuck at the bottom, desperate to survive.
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But all that endless beating tired Lombard, and in the second, Magny turned the script on its head.
The former Ultimate Fighter contender and the man with the most wins in welterweight history landed an absurd 114 significant strikes in the second, matching Lombard’s 80% hit rate from the first, not just to draw the level, but to make it clear that he was going to win the fight. He probably should have been stopped at some point towards the end of the lap or once the bell rang and Lombard struggled to get to his corner, but he was thankfully stopped less than a minute into the third when Magny resumed bombing with impunity.
It was an absolutely wild fight and a crazy change of momentum from round to round.
Robert Whittaker vs. Derek Brunson (UFC Fight Night 101)
