Martial Arts
SPORTSFIRST ATHLETE
TO WIN BOXING AND
MMA WORLD TITLES
On 14 Nov 2015, Holly
Holm beat champion
Ronda Rousey (both
USA) to become
Ultimate Fighting
Championship (UFC)
bantamweight
champion. In so
doing, she became
the first athlete –
male or female – to
hold a world title in
Mixed Martial Arts
(MMA) and boxing.
Holly had previously
won the WBA
welterweight title
back in 2006.At Rio 2016, Cheick Sallah Cissé (CIV) won taekwondo
gold with the match’s very last kick – to the head...MOST CONSECUTIVE OLYMPIC GAMES
TO WIN GOLD IN INDIVIDUAL EVENTS (FEMALE)
Kaori Icho (JPN) won four consecutive gold medals between Athens 2004
and Rio 2016. Her first three golds came in the 63 kg freestyle, with her
fourth won in the 58 kg freestyle. An utterly dominant force in women’s
wrestling, Kaori was undefeated in all competitions for 13 years before finally
losing a match in Jan 2016. But she still came out on top in Rio, despite
trailing with 5 sec remaining of her final against Valeria Koblova (RUS).MOST
UNDEFEATED
TOP-DIVISION SUMO
CHAMPIONSHIP WINS
A zenshō-yūshō is a sumo
tournament victory attained
without a single loss. Between
2007 and 2016, Hakuhō Shō
(MNG, born Mönkhbatyn
Davaajargal, far right) did
this 12 times, four more than
Futabayama Sadaji (JPN,
achieved 1936–43) and
Taihō Kōki (JPN, 1963–69).
Hakuhō’s 12th zenshō-
yūshō came on
22 May 2016. He beat
Kakuryū Rikisaburō
by utchari, throwing
him outside the ring.
First Ultimate Fighting Championship
fighter to hold two titles simultaneously
On 12 Nov 2016, reigning UFC featherweight
champion Conor McGregor (IRL) faced Eddie
Alvarez (USA) at Madison Square Garden in
New York City, USA, for the lightweight title.
McGregor won in two rounds, making him
world champion at two different weights.
The McGregor–Alvarez bout was the headline
event of UFC 205, which generated a reported
$17,700,000 (£14,061,200). That makes it the
highest revenue earned from ticket sales
for a UFC event.Most consecutive defences
of the UFC flyweight title (male)
Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson (USA)
defended his title eight times between
22 Sep 2012 and 23 Apr 2016. He was the UFC’s
first flyweight champion, winning the division’s
inaugural title bout against Joseph Benavidez
(USA) on a split decision.Most medal-winning countries at
the Summer Olympic Games in judo
Rio 2016 saw 26 different countries win judo
medals between 6 and 12 Aug, including Cuba,
United Arab Emirates and Slovenia. Majlinda
Kelmendi’s victory in the women’s -52 kg
division was a first Olympic medal for Kosovo.Most Olympic taekwondo
gold medals won (overall)
Four athletes have won two Olympic taekwondo
gold medals. Ha Tae-kyung (KOR) and Chen
Yi-an (TPE) both won golds at the 1988 Games
in Seoul, South Korea, and in Barcelona, Spain,
in 1992, when taekwondo was still classed as
a demonstration sport. Hwang Kyung-seon(KOR) won gold in the women’s middleweight
division at Beijing 2008 and London 2012, while
Jade Jones (UK) won the women’s 57 kg title
in 2012 and at Rio 2016.
The most Olympic taekwondo medals
won (female) is three, achieved by Hwang
Kyung-seon between 2004 and 2012 and
Maria Espinosa (MEX) between 2008 and 2016.Most sumo top division wins
Professional sumo has a top division of
42 wrestlers known as the makuuchi. Between
8 Jul 2007 and 24 Jul 2016, Hakuhō Shō (MNG,
see below left) racked up 903 wins in this
division, the most by any rikishi
(wrestler). He surpassed
the previous record
of 879 wins at the
2016 Summer Grand
Sumo Tournament in
Tokyo, Japan.HIGHEST-
SELLING PAY-PER-
VIEW UFC EVENT
Featuring the eagerly
anticipated rematch
between Conor
McGregor (IRL) and
Nate Diaz (USA) as its
main event, UFC 202
achieved 1,650,000
pay-per-view buys.
The event was held in
Las Vegas, Nevada,
USA, on 20 Aug 2016.
The headline bout
was eventually won
on a majority decision
by McGregor, revenge
for his second-
round loss to Diaz
on 5 Mar 2016.In 1968, Hakuhō’s
father Jigjidiin won
Mongolia’s first Olympic
medal – for wrestling.