Is this upset a game changer?

If you’re a sporting fan then you realize that there will always come a time where the masses are shocked, left wide-eyed by an event that they never would have thought was possible. In boxing, basketball, baseball, bodybuilding, football, soccer, any sport you can think of – just name it and I’m sure you can find some kind of shocking turn of events that has been emblazoned in the memories of fans. In mixed martial arts there have been countless highlight reels of crushing knock outs, gracefully merciless submissions, and feats of strength and technique that has left a lasting impression on spectators. This past weekend may have provided the most jarring image of all: Ronda Rousey, the world’s most celebrated female combat athlete, laying unconscious in the middle of the world famous UFC octagon.

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It’s perhaps a sight that many fight fans never thought they’d ever see, a women’s batamweight title challenger getting their hand raised, at least not while Ronda Rousey held the belt. But multiple time boxing champion and undefeated mixed martial artist Holly Holm had some plans of her own. Holm rouse to the occasion and separated Rousey from her consciousness early in the second frame of their five round UFC title bout. To those present at the venue and the millions watching around the world it was perhaps one of the most shocking upsets ever recorded in UFC history. Holly Holm is the new women’s batamweight champion and now a host of new questions have been sparked in the minds of fans and pundits alike, chiefly, where does Ronda Rousey go from here?

It’s a tough position that Rousey finds herself in. Before Saturday night she was an unbeatable entity, the queen of combat sports. Now that her mystique of invincibility has been lifted, many fans will be jumping off the bandwagon. But as they say, the true definition of a champion is a person who takes adversity and uses it to add fuel to the fire. Can Rousey come back from such a crushing defeat and become as dominant as she once was? It’s a question that we’ll have to wait to see answered.

It also opens up another angle that perhaps no one has thought of before. Was in unreasonable to expect so much from Ronda? She certainly a great fighter and was a dominant champion, but when the label of invincible starts being thrown around, there’s always a risk that the mountain of accolades and praise could all come crumbling down in an instant. It’s what makes combat sports so exciting and so bittersweet. In bodybuilding Jay Cutler had to suffer defeat at the hands of Dexter Jackson to come back better than ever and perhaps Ronda could do the same in MMA.

Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm will also be appearing in the upcoming MMA documentary “The Hurt Business” from the producers of Generation Iron and directed by Vlad Yudin. For more information about the film – head over to The Vladar Company’s official website.

Will adversity make Ronda Rousey a better competitor? Let us know in the comments and forums. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.