First Annual SportsKeeda MMA Awards
This set the tone!2015 has been a great year in MMA. New stars were born, legends returned, the invincible tasted defeat and unreachable icons were pulled back down to Earth. This is the first annual Sportskeeda MMA awards, to honour all those who competed in the sport we all love so dearly and celebrate their remarkable accomplishments.We have chosen winners for 5 categories. They are – male fighter of the year, female fighter of the year, fight of the year, event of the year and upset of the year.So will Conor McGregor be the first recipient of the male fighter of the year award? Will it be UFC 189, UFC 194 or something different entirely as the event of the year? For the answers to these questions as well as all the other awards, please keep reading.
#1 Upset of the year Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm
Blockbuster movies, magazine covers, prestigious awards and numerous accolades. Ronda Rousey was the face of the UFC, the face of MMA and arguably the face of women’s sports before she faced Holly Holm in November.
From Kobe Bryant and LeBron James to Demi Lovato and Vin Diesel, mainstream stars were singing the praises of Ronda Rousey. Everything she did, everything she said, became headline news. She had broken through the glass ceiling and soared to unknown heights.
When the highs are so great, the fall will be all the more painful. Holly Holm wasn’t supposed to stand a chance. She was destined to become a statistic in Ronda’s legacy. An afterthought.
An also-ran. In the lead up to her fight with Ronda, Holly was looked as a sacrificial lamb being fed to the hungry lioness rather than a worthy contender. The 19 boxing world titles didn’t seem to matter. The years of experience didn’t seem to matter.
The undefeated MMA record didn’t seem to matter. It was supposed to be a question of when rather than if Ronda would beat Holly. There were people doubting Holly’s ability to get out of the first minute let alone the round. Yet despite all of this, Holly seemed oblivious to the mountain of doubt that was thrown her way.
Holly shocked the world to become the new Bantamweight champion. She didn’t just beat Ronda, she dominated her. In a striking masterclass, she highlighted serious flaws in Ronda’s game while elevating herself as the new darling of the MMA world.
A second round head kick KO that will be played for many years to come was the culmination of a systematic beating. Holly lifted the gold in Melbourne, to forever destroy the myth of invincibility that surrounded Ronda.
Since that night in November, Holly’s star has reached the stratosphere and only whispers of Ronda Rousey are heard. There will be a rematch. Ronda may reclaim her title. However she will never live down what happened in Melbourne.
A head kick that stunned the world to give birth to a new star. It shouldn’t have happened. But that is the beauty of sports. The greatest moments, the ones that live with us for years and years, are the ones that should not have happened.