It was supposed to be a historic comeback. Ronda Rousey returned from a 13-month absence and was supposed to show the world that she still was the same amazing MMA fighter that was undefeated before her surprising knockout last year. Turns out, things went worse for her than most expected and Rousey was blown out of the competition in a mere 48 seconds by Amanda Nunes and her powerful punches in the main event of UFC 207. Clearly, the woman who had become the biggest star of the mixed martial arts world with a string of amazing victories has lost her edge and she seemed helpless to stop Nunes’ amazingly quick hits. Many are now wondering whether Rousey’s career is now over.
With the devastatingly quick loss, Rousey experienced what it was like to be on the other side. She had built her reputation on quick victories and before her defeat last year to Holly Holm had won titles in as little as 16 seconds. This time the referee had to step in to stop the pummeling of Rousey by Nunes, who retained her women’s bantamweight championship.
“It was likely a sad end to an amazing career of a fighter who will go down as one of the biggest stars in mixed martial arts history and the most transformative figure in female fighting,” notes ESPN’s Arash Markazi.
Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole notes that Rousey “didn’t go out with dignity.” He explains:
Her pre-fight media blackout was one thing, but her failure to speak for the second fight in a row after losing made her look small. She was willing to accept the glory and the adulation when she won, but continues to look like a sore loser in defeat.
She was guaranteed $3 million Friday and undoubtedly will make many multiples more of that, and couldn’t even release a statement, let alone face the media.
Nunes essentially announced Rousey’s retirement for her.
“Yeah that’s it for her,” Nunes said of Rousey. “She can’t take it any more. If she wanted a rematch, it would be the same thing. She can’t take my punches.”
UFC president Dana White said that Rousey is “devastated” by the loss. He did say though that she seemed to be doing better than following her shocking loss to Holm last year, after which she later said she contemplated suicide. “She’s a lot better than the Holly Holm fight,” White said. “She was backstage and obviously she was upset. But she’s got a lot of support for her, and I think it’ll be a lot better than the Holm fight.”
The Guardian’s Josh Gross explains that, for now, Rousey’s defeat should serve as a cautionary tale:
Rousey showed that in the UFC there is no height from which a star can’t fall. No limb he or she can’t hit on the way down. And no thud they won’t feel. Her stardom reached well beyond the cage, but no amount of fame could save her from a second consecutive drubbing in the Octagon. Rousey’s dominance then difficulty should serve as a cautionary tale to fighters everywhere.
