This Holly Holm Highlight Reel Puts Those Wild Ronda Rousey Conspiracy Theories to Rest

The fighter’s got legs — and she knows how to use them. 

In the lead up to Ronda Rousey’s now-legendary UFC 193 fight with the little-known Holly Holm, we heard a lot about the challenger’s fists. Holm is, we learned, a former boxing champion, and Rousey herself said Holm’s counter-punching presented her “biggest challenge yet.” That wasn’t wrong, of course, but it wasn’t the whole story. As anyone who watched Holm’s knockout knows, her fists weren’t what brought Rousey to the ground. It was her feet.

And that might be why Holm’s victory was something of a shock to MMA fans who didn’t know much about her. A boxer dismantled Rousey with a kick? Huh? It was confusing enough that conspiracy theories — suggesting that the UFC and Rousey threw the match so Rousey could pursue film and TV ventures — started popping up even before Rousey’s bruises faded.

But fans who’ve followed Holm’s upward trajectory thorough the MMA world had little cause for surprise. Yes, Holm was a 19-time boxing champ, but she’s been wrecking women with head kicks since she started in MMA.  Even those of us who hadn’t heard of Holm until she was announced as Rousey’s opponent know that now, thanks to a couple videos from AXS TV. The cable network, owned by Mark Cuban, has been broadcasting Holm’s fights for some time now and had enough footage to put together this compilation of her fancy footwork. 

Clearly, there’s no reason to suspect foul play in her epic beatdown of Rousey. Holm’s fists might have got her to the top of the boxing world, but those kicks are why she’s now a champion in the UFC.

Photos by Jeff Bottari / Zuffa LLC / Getty Images