On Friday at UFC 207 in Las Vegas, Ronda Rousey made her long awaited return to the octagon. The former bantamweight champion and world celebrity fought to reclaim her title against the fierce striker Amanda Nunes. Many believed Rousey would not let anyone stand in her way, but after weeks of hype she fell victim to a TKO just a mere 48 seconds into the fight.
Rousey, who just last year was famous for ending title fights in less than one minute, found herself helplessly lost unable to defend against the superb striking of Amanda Nunes. The fight was starkly reminiscent of Rousey’s loss to Holly Holm last November, only this time she failed to even land a punch or takedown. Now the once undefeated and highest grossing fighter has suffered two consecutive losses and has left many to wonder where her career will go from here. However her career before her devastating losses, which was once argued as one of the most dominant in all of sports history, now may be viewed as less impressive than once thought.
Now that Rousey has found herself in two fights where she could not take a punch and recover, she may no longer be viewed as the vaunted fighter she once was. She may be perceived as one who found a way to avoid her lack of defense to skyrocket to the top. While these two losses have not taken anything away from Rousey’s impeccable technical ability, they have exposed her inability to take a punch or properly defend. Not only that, but Holly Holm’s legacy is also in jeopardy now that she is not the only one to have taken down the unstoppable Rousey. Now Holm may be viewed as the first to crack the code on how to beat her, and Nunes will be viewed as the one who did it much more effectively. Not to mention Holm lost to Miesha Tate who lost to Nunes.
Whether or not Rousey will bounce back from this devastating loss remains to be seen. However it is not far out to say that if she does return, we will see a much different fighter than the one we have come to know in the past few years. She did not adapt her style against Nunes and that decision cost her the fight in under a minute. It has become clear to all UFC fighters that there is a way to beat Ronda Rousey, and if she wants to reclaim her place at the top of women’s fighting, she must adapt to that.
