Ad of the Day: This Chills-Inducing Preview of Ronda Rousey's Next Bout Is the Best Fight Promo Ever

It's hard not to root for UFC world champion Ronda Rousey, but a cinematic promo for her next bout might just leave you undecided. Clocking in at nearly 3 minutes, "Revolution" from production firm Mothership follows the lifelong trajectories of both Rousey and her Nov. 14 challenger, Holly Holm. We see Rousey witness her first judo bout at age 11, while 16-year-old Holm gets her start with her first tentative shots at a punching bag. The tension—and the music—build as Rousey sharpens her judo chops and Holm becomes a boxing phenom, both slowly finding their calling. In one especially emotional moment, Holm appears in church, pious and peaceful, as neighbors judgmentally gawk at her black eye. Set to the the rising intensity of string instruments as the women age, strengthen and grow more competitive, body-slamming men and taking serious hits in the ring—including Holm's brutal knockout loss to French boxer Anne Sophie Mathis, defeated the next year by a resilient Holm. The ad concludes with the phrase "Every revolution begins with a fight" before rolling to a promo shot of their match for the World Bantamweight Championship. Not all of us follow MMA or boxing, and fewer still follow women's boxing (at least one reason female pros have so much trouble finding sponsors), but we're all familiar with the making-of-a-champion journey ad. It's a formula that's worked from films like Rocky and Southpaw to some of the most epic spots in advertising history, such as Nike's David Fincher-directed Fate spot. This one, like Fincher's spot, has a poignant and personal feel. Its resonance doesn't rely on viewers knowing either of the competitors; like a feature film, it takes the time to invest us in each story without shirking either one, or transforming them into tawdry caricatures of an aging champion and a cocky young upstart. Helping round out the spot's realism is its superb casting, with Rousey's judo instructor mother, Dr. AnnMaria De Mars, playing herself and teenage Rousey being played by the fighter's younger sister, Julia De Mars. On top of key agony-and-ecstasy moments, "Revolution" also highlights the unique sense of alienation and loneliness women feel when they take up arms in a male-dominated arena. That's a lot to pack into less than three minutes, but here it happens wordlessly and without compromise, carried to climax by a well-chosen soundtrack. The Rousey and Holm fight goes down Nov. 14 on Pay-Per-View and will mark the seventh consecutive time Rousey's defended her 135-pound title. For once in a critical match, fans might not think there's any harm in rooting for both; what they represent as a pair is stronger than the sum of their hits and misses. CREDITS Client: Ultimate Fighting Championship / Zuffa, LLC President: Dana White Chairman & CEO: Lorenzo Fertitta Executive Vice President, Production & Operations: Craig Borsari Senior Vice President, Production and Programming: Chris Kartzmark Production Manager: Laura Gilbert Production Company: Mothership Media, Inc. Director: Neil Huxley Vice President | Executive Producer | Advertising & Games: Tiffani Manabat Line Producer: Michael Angelos Production Supervisor: Ben Oswald Asst. Production Supervisor: Adam de Monet Production Supervisor: Joe Faulstich Asst. Director of Photography: Larkin Seiple First AD: Mike Saffie Production Designer: Abigail Potter Digital Production Company: Digital Domain 3.0, Inc. Vice President | Executive Producer | Advertising & Games: Tiffani Manabat Creative Director: Neil Huxley Associate Creative Director: Aaron Shact Post Producer: Alex Michael Editor: Pedram Torbati Board-o-matic Editor: Ryan Todd Flame Artist: Andy Davis Sound/Music Design: ECHOLAB Sound Designer/Owner: Gavin Little Sound Mixing: Margarita Mix – Santa Monica Original Track: "Experience" (Ludovico Einaudi, Daniel Hope & I Virtuosi Italiani) Sound Designer/Mixer: Nathan Dubin General Manager: Michele Millard

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Ad of the Day: This Chills-Inducing Preview of Ronda Rousey's Next Bout Is the Best Fight Promo Ever

Charting her collision course with Holly Holm

Angela Natividad

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Angela Natividad