RONDA LOUSY!
Rousey career in peril after return lasts 48 seconds
LAS VEGAS — Ronda Rousey’s comeback to the Octagon lasted just 48 seconds.
That’s all it took for the defending UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes to rock the former champion with a series of unanswered strikes that prompted referee Herb Dean to stop the fight with Rousey out on her feet.
It was a good stoppage. Rousey was upright but badly hurt after being mauled by a series of hard blows from the hard-hitting Brazilian, stunning a soldout crowd at T-Mobile Arena. It was never a contest.
“I know they love Ronda Rousey, but nobody is going to take this belt from me,” Nunes said. “I knew I was going to beat the s--t out of Ronda Rousey. I’m the best on the planet. I’m Amanda Nunes. I’m the champion.”
Nunes entered wearing the black uniform fitting the champion after Rousey entered the Octagon for the first time in 13 months to a roaring crowd. Rousey looked fit and trim, while Nunes looked determined to validate the championship she took from Miesha Tate with a second-round submission at UFC 200.
The much-anticipated showdown was Rousey’s first fight since losing to Holly Holm on Nov. 15, 2015, in Melbourne, Australia. She suffered a vicious knockout in that fight, and the major question was whether she was damaged goods. She certainly is that now.
Nunes, known as a fast starter, tested Rousey’s chin early, throwing wild right hands and kicks. While the blows initially missed, soon they were landing.
A hard right hand sent Rousey against the cage, then came another and another. After a clean right hand landed, Rousey’s legs buckled. Dean wisely rushed in to stop the fight.
Rousey stood stunned and defeated again. Nunes celebrated briefly, then rushed over to give Rousey a huge hug, holding her for several seconds. UFC President Dana White came over, showing his concern. Then Rousey slowly made her way to the middle of the Octagon she once owned, waiting for the official announcement.
After that, she left without saying a word as she had done all week. Meanwhile, Nunes, who got $100,000 for the fight compared to $3 million for Rousey, demanded her respect.
“I trained and prepared for this fight,” Nunes said. “There’s a lot of talent in this division. Forget about Ronda Rousey.”
Nunes became the first to successfully defend the UFC women’s bantamweight title since Rousey’s reign of dominance. Holm lost in her first defense to Tate and Tate lost in her first defense to Nunes.
Where Rousey goes from here is uncertain. Retirement is probable. She had plenty of excuses for her loss to Holm. She had just 44 days to train after the fight, originally scheduled for January 2016, was moved up to November 2015 after an injury to headliner Robbie Lawler. She said she was weak and dehydrated from the weight cut from 150 pounds, and she had a bad knee that required surgery. In addition, Rousey also said she wasn’t totally focused on the fight because she spent too much time trying to appease too many people outside of the Octagon.
But there were no excuses Friday night. She’s certainly not in the class of Nunes, and being away from the Octagon for so long certainly didn’t help. She didn’t have enough head movement and not once attempted any type of takedown. She never got the chance.
So much for #fearthereturn.