UFC 193: Ronda Rousey breaks silence on Holly Holm defeat

Rousey had taken digs at Holm in the lead-up to the fight

UFC champion Ronda Rousey lost to Holly Holm in the pair’s bantamweight category fight at UFC 193. Holm’s trademark kick to the head took Rousey out 59 seconds into the second round of the match, knocking her to the ground nearly instantly.

At the time, medical professionals rushed to the aid of a visibly uncomfortable and bleeding Rousey, who was immediately taken to a Melbourne hospital to have her injuries tended to.

Rousey previously took a public dig at Holm, a preacher's daughter, appearing on American talk show Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. At the interview, she told Fallon Holm was  “... the type of fighter you have to be very, very patient with.”

“I feel like she’s going to try to like keep distance and keep far away from me and get me frustrated to the point I’ll make a mistake and she can try to kick me in the head.”

“But it’s not going to go like that. Not the way she wants.”

That statement would prove to be portentuous for Rousey as Holm ducked under a right hook, sending Rousey staggering and confusing her before Holm sealed victory with a kick.

Rousey, like her mother, is a professional judoka, while Holm is a former pro boxer and kickboxer.

Former Olympian Rousey’s coach made a statement following her loss, saying "That was a great test for her, and look at how she came back, she came back a multi-time world champion."

Holm herself also reached out to Rousey after the fight to confirm that her competitor was okay after the knock out.

Longtime Rousey rival Miesha Tate reacted to the loss, with a profane ‘you just got beat, b***h!’ Tate and Bethe Correia were among several competitors who reacted gleefully to Holm’s KO of Rousey.

Today, Rousey posted to her Instagram page in her first statement since the loss: