5 Most Emotional Moments In UFC History
The road to MMA glory can be cruel, and quite literally paved with blood, sweat and tears.
Arguing with housemates over who used the last of the milk gets emotional. Running after a bus before it leaves can get emotional. So imagine the butterflies, the palpitations, what the brain is going through in a mixed martial arts fight against a trained assassin.
Tears of agony, tears of ecstasy in a moment that these girls and guys have been working towards their entire life, that are so huge we’re welling up right alongside them. Let's start counting before I start balling, with the most emotional moments in MMA history.
5. Holm Holm Vs. Ronda Rousey
You gotta love an underdog story, especially one with conviction and an indisputable happy ending. For this one we’re looking at a fairytale finish in the second round, topping off an A++ performance for the former bantamweight champion, Holly Holm. On a night where the cards and Vegas odds were stacked against her, she wasn't having any of it and bet the house on herself.
She was set to face the Ronda Rousey, the MMA juggernaut who at the time had made herself such a household name, that if you got home and saw her feet on the coffee table, sat on the couch, munching last night's leftovers from the fridge, you would be like, fair enough.
Holly displayed her kickboxing mastery and made the contest look like a mismatch in each and every exchange, with stick and move tactics, tagging and frustrating Rousey who failed to put a hand on her, leaving Ronda swinging wild with gaping whiffs, as the Preacher's daughter skated across the Octagon. If any of you remember Rose’s performance against Jessica Andraje you can imagine something like that (obviously Rose got slammed on her head and finished though, yikes!)
Holly was ready to complete the mission, walking Ronda into a pristine, measured high kick that put the rowdy one out cold, something that no one dared imagine. I’ll never forget that finish, nor the explosion of emotion that poured out of the new champion as she screamed with joy, lapping the ring in victory to an almighty pop. She had done the unthinkable!