Fighting Words: 'Unbeatable' Ronda Rousey dethroned by superb Holly Holm

Holly Holm beat Ronda Rousey by knockout 59 seconds into round two of their women's bantamweight championship match in the main event of UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.

Both ladies went into the contest unbeaten, but Rousey - who had become the face of the company over the last few years thanks to her devastatingly quick wins and mainstream crossover appeal - was a huge 1-16 favourite prior to the bout.

[MORE: Holm stuns Rousey in second round]

Holm was far from a one-shot wonder, either, as has been the case in many of boxing and MMA's greatest upsets. 'The Preacher's Daughter' exerted her superiority in a stand-up pugilistic fight, handily countered Rousey's attempts to lock in her famed armbar submission more than once, and in the closing stages of the contest moved and evaded 'Rowdy' Ronda at a pace which made the sport's leading female star look like an over-the-hill has-been before dropping her with a hard kick to the head.

Rousey had developed an aura of invincibility throughout her MMA career, all the way to the top of her profession and also into Hollywood appearances and more.

Holm's career leading up to this opportunity - including her excellent boxing credentials (she's now the only female to have been world champion in both the ring and the Octagon) - were impressive, but nonetheless overlooked due to the 'Rousey effect'.

Scores of celebrities also chimed in with their thoughts after the contest finished - most of these responses were of utter shock.

Rousey rubbed many people the wrong way in the build-up to the fight on several counts.

In a pre-fight interview, Rousey was very condescending of Holm, saying that she hopes Holm invests her loser's share of the purse well because she 'seems like a very nice person':

And though the build to the contest was very civil, especially compared to the animosity between Rousey and Bethe Correia in her previous battle at UFC 190, the defending champion suddenly performed a 180-degree turn right before the fight, branding her challenger a 'fake ass cheap shotting fake respect humility b--tch' after instigating a weigh-in scuffle with Holm.

Then, moments before the start of round one, Rousey refused to 'touch gloves' with her opponent in the traditional fight sports show of sportsmanship. This was the moment that turned many towards being pro-Holm, such as pop queen Lady Gaga whose Instagram post received over 167,000 likes:

Of course, there was also less-understandable mocking of the defeated champ, such as 50 Cent posting (and then saying Floyd Mayweather, who has belitted Rousey's abilities in the past, put him up to it) and Donald Trump (who dislikes Rousey purely because she's a high-profile name who has openly declared intentions of voting for Trump's Presidential candidacy opponent).

Well, talk of her moving onto a full-time career in movies and television with her proverbial tail tucked firmly between her legs is premature.

It's difficult to envision all parties not taking a rematch sometime in 2016. The interest in the bout would be absolutely huge, and perhaps a redemption win over Holm is the only way Rousey can reclaim her credibility as fighting elite.

However, this writer would be shocked if she did manage to win a return bout as comprehensively as many predicted she would win the first meeting.

As mentioned above, this wasn't Lennox Lewis losing to Hasim Rahman, for instance. Holm had too much for Rousey in the striking department, moved better than the defending titlist, and had an answer for every attempt made by Rousey to corner her opponent or take her down and reach for an arm. More importantly, Holm was far more disciplined than an opponent who looked like she didn't know what to do when Plan A failed.

The effortless dodging of Rousey's final, flailing attacks in round two by Holm, shortly before staggering her further with punches and casually planting a brutal kick to the side of her head, summed up the difference between the two.

Even if this was the result of Ronda believing her own hype heading into the fight, and even if Rousey entered a rematch more focused and determined than this time around, Holm will no doubt be as ready for submission attempts, as able to dominate with her fists and as happy to make Ronda chase her around the Octagon.

Some predicted that women in UFC were reliant on Rousey as the all-conquering star to succeed. The buzz surrounding this shock result, combined with the glowing reviews of womens UFC fights over recent years, shows that clearly isn't the case. The rematch between these two will be one of the company's biggest, whether we return to Rousey on top or not.