An offer of a touch of gloves by Holm was refused by Rousey during referee Herb Dean’s instructions, but “The Preacher’s Daughter” got even quickly, sticking and moving effectively in the early going. In the second minute, Rousey finally closed the distance and clinched with Holm against the fence, but the challenger got free and went back to using every inch of the Octagon real estate. Midway through the frame, Rousey got a takedown and it looked like it might have been over, but again, Holm eluded trouble, rose to her feet and went back to work. And as the round progressed, Holm’s left wasn’t missing the target, and she even scored a takedown in the final minute. By the end of the round, Rousey was bloodied and breathing heavy.
After the worst round of her professional career, Rousey came out aggressively for the second, but her porous defense was about to be her downfall. As the opening minute came to a close, a straight left rocked Rousey, and as the Californian staggered, Holm cracked her with a flush left kick to the head. Rousey crumbled to the canvas – her head hitting the deck hard – and after three follow up punches, Dean stopped the fight at 59 seconds of round two, capping off the stunning upset.