5 best women's bantamweight title fights in UFC history
This past weekend at UFC 269, Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena went to battle for the UFC women’s bantamweight title in an instant classic that ended with a major upset.
JULIANNA PENA SHOCKS THE WORLD 🌎 #UFC269 https://t.co/LNr4amWe94
The UFC women’s bantamweight title has been part of the UFC now for almost a decade. Over the years, we’ve seen a number of classic battles between UFC legends for it.
With five different champions reigning over the division thus far, the UFC has seen a total of 15 women’s bantamweight title bouts, with some being better to watch than the others.
With that considered, here are the five best women’s bantamweight title bouts in UFC history.
#5. Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm – UFC 193
Widely considered one of the greatest upsets in UFC history, Holly Holm’s win over Ronda Rousey for the bantamweight title at UFC 193 still stands up as a classic battle today.
Sure, it was somewhat one-sided, but the fact that Holm was able to take out a fighter who, at the time, was considered completely unbeatable in violent fashion made it a jaw-dropping spectacle to watch.
Five years ago today, @HollyHolm shocked the world by knocking out Ronda Rousey with a picture-perfect head kick at UFC 193 ⚡️🌏
Holm was a big underdog against Rousey, who had never lost to that point in her career. https://t.co/hE6iDqDmCQ
The fight, as was the case with most of her bouts in the UFC, began with Rousey as the wild aggressor. She’d already taken out Sara McMann and Bethe Correia with flurries of crazy strikes and seemed determined to do the same to Holm.
However, ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ used all of her striking skills to largely avoid Rousey’s wild attacks, even escaping a bad position on the ground at one point. When the fight reached the second round, Holm began to hurt the champion with heavy shots.
A left hand sent Rousey stumbling to the canvas, stunning the live crowd in Melbourne, Australia and leaving them wondering about an upset. Seconds later, those ideas turned to reality as Holm landed a picture-perfect head kick that knocked ‘Rowdy’ senseless, ending her run as champion in the process.
In the six years that have followed, Holm’s head kick has made its way onto most UFC highlight reels and remains one of the most memorable and recognizable moments in the history of the promotion.