By Tim Summerville
Every sport claims to be unpredictable, but when push comes to shove, it's always the same players or teams coming out on top.
But as we saw at UFC 196, when it comes to MMA, anything can happen.
Heading into the event, Holly Holm and Conor McGregor were expected to be far too strong for Miesha Tate and Nate Diaz. In fact, a $100 bet on the pair at a Las Vegas casino would have returned $1,469.50.
Holm was undefeated in MMA and riding a wave of popularity after her head kick knockout of Ronda Rousey in November. McGregor had built a 7-0 record in the UFC, with his last five wins coming by way of knockout within the first two rounds.
Tate chokes out Holm (Reuters).
But at the end of the night, both Holm and McGregor were left gasping for air, falling victim to their opponents' superior grappling skills and a pair of rear naked chokes.
Results like these are nothing new in the UFC. No one stays undefeated for long. Holm, in particular, is no stranger to causing an upset. Her win over Rousey in Melbourne is widely considered one of the biggest upsets in history.
In the past 24 months, 13 new champions have been crowned across the company's 10 divisions, with flyweight title-holder Demetrious Johnson the only champ to have held onto his/her belt through that entire period.
The UFC doesn't protect its fighters. It's rare to see a UFC fighter with a padded record like in boxing, where someone like Deontay Wilder can go more than 30 pro fights without ever really being challenged. It also means that a loss isn't the end of the world.
A deject McGregor walks away from the octagon (Reuters)
McGregor's defeat to Nate Diaz is unlikely to do too much damage to his career. The popular Irishman is still the UFC featherweight champion and will most likely be headlining UFC 200 in July. The fight has also catapulted Diaz to superstardom, and sparked talk of a welterweight title shot against Robbie Lawler.
Holm may have lost the bantamweight title, but she'll always be the woman who handed Rousey her first defeat. That will be enough to keep her hovering around the main event picture for the foreseeable future.
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