Top 5: UFC Women’s Bantamweight Title Fights

Miesha Tate wore the crown well, even in her brief time at the top. The Xtreme Couture standout put Holly Holm to sleep with a rear-naked choke and laid claim to the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight title in the fifth round of their UFC 196 co-main event on March 5, 2016 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Tate brought it to a dramatic close 3:30 into Round 5, as she handed “The Preacher’s Daughter” the first loss of her career.

Tate nearly finished it in the second round, where she secured a takedown inside the first minute and smashed the champion with elbows, punches, hammerfists and forearm strikes before advancing to the back. She pursued the rear-naked choke, but Holm refused her advances and escaped. Tate spent the first, second and fourth rounds trapped on the feet, and the results were predictable. Holm utilized side kicks to the body, oblique kicks to the thigh, stinging punching combinations and surgical counters.

It was not enough to maintain her position atop the 135-pound weight class. Tate hit a duck-under takedown in the fifth round and wheeled to the back while the Jackson-Wink MMA mainstay scrambled to her feet. She sank the choke with Holm standing and quickly tightened her squeeze. In a final act of desperation, Holm tried and failed to buck off the challenger but only slipped deeper into trouble. Soon after, she lay unconscious, and the UFC had a new champion.

More than nine years later, it remains one of the greatest UFC women’s bantamweight title fights of all-time. Four more to consider:

Ronda Rousey vs. Liz Carmouche

UFC 157
Feb. 23, 2013 | Anaheim, California
Carmouche very nearly shocked the world. “Girl-Rilla” put Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight titleholder Ronda Rousey in serious trouble for the first time in her career before succumbing to what most viewed as inevitable: a first-round armbar in their historic UFC 157 headliner at the Honda Center. Rousey elicited the tapout 4:49 into Round 1, closing out the first women’s bout in UFC history. Carmouche capitalized on the judoka’s trademark aggression, moved to her back a little more than a minute into the fight and went to work on a submission of her own, first a standing rear-naked choke and then a neck crank. Rousey was in visible distress but fought through the pain and panic to free herself from her counterpart’s clutches. The Olympic bronze medalist powered into top position and methodically softened Carmouche for her patented maneuver. The challenger tried desperately to escape, but Rousey was relentless in her pursuit of the finish and finally isolated the arm after an extended struggle.

Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate

UFC 168
Dec. 28, 2013 | Las Vegas
Rousey retained her UFC women’s bantamweight crown in an emotionally charged UFC 168 co-main event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, where she put away “Cupcake” with a third-round armbar. The first woman to escape the opening round with the champion, Tate conceded defeat 58 seconds into Round 3. Rousey scored with throws in all three rounds and assaulted her rival with punches and elbows on the mat. She mounted Tate in Round 2, where she made her first pass at an armbar. Tate dodged the bullet and managed to escape the inverted triangle that followed. However, her efforts only seemed to prolong the inevitable. In the third round, Tate countered a takedown and settled into top position. Rousey wasted no time, went to work from the bottom, isolated the challenger’s left arm and forced the tapout.

Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm

UFC 193
Nov. 14, 2015 | Melbourne, Australia
In a bug-meet-windshield moment few saw coming, Holm knocked out the Riverside, California, native with a concussive head kick and follow-up punches to capture the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight title in their UFC 193 main event at Etihad Stadium. “The Preacher’s Daughter” finished it 59 seconds into Round 2, with Rousey lying motionless on the canvas. It was no Hail Mary knockout. Holm dominated the match from start to finish, as she ripped into the heavily favored champion with surgical punches from the outside. Her lateral movement and deft footwork forced Rousey to give chase and left her vulnerable to counters. Holm bloodied her with several left crosses and even survived a pair of ground exchanges, one of which she initiated with a surprising takedown. Rousey did not alter her approach in the second round, where her reign atop the division began to unravel. Holm connected with a straight left inside the first minute that appeared to daze the decorated judoka. Rousey turned her back briefly and let her guard down before being met with a brutal high kick to the neck that sent her crashing to the floor in a semi-conscious and defenseless state. Holm gave her no time to recover, a final volley of punches and hammerfists prompting referee Herb Dean to act.

Amanda Nunes vs. Valentina Shevchenko

UFC 215
Sept. 9, 2017 | Edmonton, Alberta
Nunes tightened her hold over the women’s bantamweight championship with a split decision over “Bullet” in the UFC 215 headliner at Rogers Place. All three judges scored it 48-47: Sal D’Amato and David Therien for Nunes, Tony Weeks for Shevchenko. All five rounds were closely contested. Nunes paced herself in an attempt to curb the cardio issues that have plagued her in the past. Leg and body kicks were her most effective weapons. Meanwhile, Shevchenko frustrated “The Lioness” with crafty footwork and sublime head movement, countering effectively off her misses. With the outcome still up in the air entering the fifth round, Nunes changed course. She freed herself from an ill-conceived head-and-arm throw from Shevchenko, assumed a dominant position and fished for weaknesses. Later, the American Top Team rep powered her way to a takedown and spent the final 50 seconds on top sending a message to the judges.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Julianna Pena vs. Amanda Nunes, UFC 269; Amanda Nunes vs. Raquel Pennington, UFC 224; Julianna Pena vs. Raquel Pennington, UFC 307; Amanda Nunes vs. Germaine de Randamie, UFC 245; Raquel Pennington vs. Mayra Bueno Silva